Fowlerville basketball junior Mariah Kirby is Livingston Daily Athlete of the Week

Posted by Admin December 22, 2024 Basketball

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FOWLERVILLE — Mariah Kirby expected success this season.

Her confidence rests not so much in herself but in the collective strength of a Fowlerville basketball junior class that has the potential to turn around a program that has struggled in recent years.

The Gladiators started 4-1 for the first time since going 5-1 to open the 2017-18 season. That Fowlerville team went 19-6 and reached the regional championship game.

Kirby is one of six juniors who were on the varsity as sophomore last season, learning some lessons while going through an 8-15 campaign, Fowlerville’s fourth losing record in the past five seasons.

“Our junior class has such a great bond,” said Kirby, the Livingston Daily’s Athlete of the Week. “We’ve been playing together since elementary school. We all have a really good connection with each other. I guess we play really well together since we’ve played together for so long.”

Kirby is a big reason for the Gladiators’ strong start.

She is averaging 11.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 steals, 2.4 assists and 4.6 deflections per game.

The steals and deflections stand out the most to second-year coach Levi Conley.

“She’s really embraced the defensive end as much as the offensive end,” Conley said. “When I first started working with her, she was more of an offensive player. She’s really brought her game to an all-around game.

“Last year is when she really started forming a defensive identity. We would put her on the best player, and we saw a lot of success there. That will usually produce her offense. She can play off that into an offensive role.”

Now Kirby gets just as excited making a big play on defense as she does scoring a basket.

“I realized that defense is a big part of the game, so I stated to work on my defensive game to try to make my offense and defense work together.”

Her confidence as a player is intertwined with her confidence in her teammates.

“I’m more confident in everything I do,” she said. “My team’s positive things are mine, too, and winning as a team is the best thing. It’s not about my individual stats, it’s about my team winning together.

“We have a great start this year. We’re going to keep at it. We have a great team and have a lot of trust in the girls on our team. We play really well together.”

Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan