KARNS CITY — As Annie Hegedus speaks of the fondness she has for her teammates, they sit on the bleachers at Karns City High School, stare, smile and heckle her.

“Go away,” Hegedus says and waves her hand toward them. “That’s awkward.”

They don’t leave. Instead, one blurts out an embarrassing nickname the Gremlins have for their junior point guard while another snaps a picture to immortalize the moment.

Things are jolly these days for the Karns City girls basketball team. The Gremlins are 16-1 — their best start since the state championship season of 1999-2000 — and have won the last three games by a combined score of 237-83.

Hegedus has been there the whole time, battling through ankle injuries and illness to be the hub, the nerve center and the engine for the Gremlins.

“She has improved in every category this season,” said Karns City coach Dave Kerschbaumer. “She has bought into the mentality as a point guard that ‘five is one.’ That’s our new motto. She has taken that and made sure everyone is comfortable on the court. Her assists have gone up two-fold, which is great for our team this year.”

Everything the Gremlins do on offense runs through Hegedus, who leads the team in minutes played and in assists (107). She’s also averaging three steals, 4.8 rebounds and 6.6 points per game.

Her role is to make sure the offense is running smoothly, which it has been for much of the season.

Karns City is averaging 59.6 points. Sophomore forward LeeAnn Gibson has scored 17.3 points per game. Junior guard Emily LoPresti has added 12 and junior guard Shanel Preston, back from a knee injury that wiped out all but four games of her sophomore season, has pitched in 10.8 points per contest.

Hegedus is happy to see her teammates score at such a rate.

“I look at my assist number first because to me, that’s how I’m helping out my team,” Hegedus said. “I’m working my butt off to get the ball to them open. And they are finishing.”

Hegedus has also taken good care of the ball. Her assist-to-turnover ratio is 2.4.

“She’s done a much better job of keeping her eyes up and seeing the court,” Kerschbaumer said. “Her vision has improved each game.”

Hegedus has always had the mentality of a point guard. Even during her days at Butler Catholic, where she was the tallest player on the team, she brought the ball up.

At 5-foot-8, Hegedus still is one of the tallest on her team. That gives her a huge advantage at point guard, both on offense and defense.

“I love playing defense,” Hegedus said. “I just don’t want them to get the ball. I just go right at them.”

Hegedus also has been a leader for Karns City.

“If someone’s down, I try to pick them up,” she said. “That’s really important to me.”

Her teammates, even though they give her a hard time on occasion with good-natured ribbing, appreciate her role.

Preston hasn’t played with Hegedus very often on the high school court until this season. The two have formed a close relationship as AAU teammates, though.

“It’s great to have one of your best friends out on the court with you,” Preston said. “Being the point guard is a hard position and Annie is the one to step up and take the responsibility. Without her it would be like something was missing out on the court.”

“She’s a great all-around player,” Gibson said, “and she’s a good teammate and friend to all of us.”

Kerschbaumer has seen Hegedus and her teammates grow up — and grow together — right before his eyes this season.

“This is the first year they have all been together as a unit,” Kerschbaumer said. “And Annie has been the leader of that group.”