County players boost GCC hoops
GROVE CITY — Two years ago, Megan Gibson was playing rugby at a college in Maryland.
At the same time, Megan Gebrosky was a green freshman forced into significant playing time with the Grove City College basketball team because of a depleted roster.
Now both Butler County Megans — Gibson of Littlestown and Gebrosky of Cranberry Township — are contributing in different ways for the Wolverines women's basketball program.
Gibson took a circuitous route to Grove City.
Not happy so far away from home at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Md., Gibson transferred to Grove City College midway through the 2008-09 academic year.
“My friends were naming off colleges around here and one of them said, ‘What about Grove City?'” Gibson said. “I said, ‘Yeah, let's see if that works.'”
It just so happened that the Wolverine were in dire straights that season. With only seven players on the roster — and only six of them healthy — the program was searching for able-bodied replacements.
Gibson was itching to play basketball again after playing rugby at Mount St. Mary's.
“It was a lot of fun, playing rugby. You get to tackle people for fun and not get in trouble for it,” Gibson said. “I had been playing basketball since I was 6 or 7. It was a big part of my life. I picked up rugby as a way to fill that emptiness, I guess. It was fun, but basketball is where my passion is.”
It took time for Gibson to get back into basketball shape.
She chuckles as she recalls her first game at Thomas More. While her teammates were shooting around to warm up, Gibson was running sprints in a desperate attempt to get her hoops legs back.
There's little question now about Gibson's basketball chops as the senior guard is averaging 20 minutes per game off the bench and is one of the team leaders.“(Gibson) is great. She does all the little things that people probably don't even pick up on,” said first-year Grove City College women's basketball coach Michelle Bruns. “She's always sprinting from one place to the next. It just shows her heart and that she is always going to give her best effort. I'm just grateful that God designed her to come back here and be a part of this team.”Only a junior, Gebrosky has played 61 games. The guard is a averaging 7.4 points per game and is the team leader in assists.She credited much of her success to those growing pains as a freshman, when she played every game because of the small roster.“It was awesome because I got the chance to play college basketball right away instead of watching it,” Gebrosky said. “High school basketball and college basketball are so different. I learned so much more by playing.”Now, Gebrosky said she is confident in her abilities.So is Bruns, who took over the program after Sarah Harris resigned unexpectedly shortly after last season.“She's one of our best communicators,” Bruns said. “She definitely leads in that area and makes things happen on the floor.”
