BUFFALO TWP — The conversation around the dinner table can be interesting in the Soilis household.

With patriarch Fred the girls basketball coach at Freeport High School and daughters Grace, a senior, and Ava, a sophomore, starters for the Yellowjackets, passing the potatoes takes on a whole different meaning.

“It's been an experience, let me tell you,” says Grace, chuckling. “Sometimes Ava and I go at it in practice and sometimes Ava and Dad get into it, but once we come home, we pretty much drop it. We mostly leave it on the court.”

Mostly.

When it's not left there, that's when matriarch Kim comes in.

“She's the moderator,” Grace said, chuckling again. “She always takes the positive side of things. Basketball season is always a stressful time for her. She's probably a nervous wreck when we are on the court and she's watching Ava and I bicker with each other and Ava and Dad go at it. She does a really good job balancing basketball and family.”

The Soilises have long been a hoop family. Eldest daughter Zoe played at a high level for Freeport, scoring 1,000 points in her career and leaving as the all-time leader in 3-pointers in 2017. She went on to star for four years at Allegheny College.

But never has there been three Soilises at work for the Yellowjackets.

Grace is the lone senior on the team this season and is averaging 7.4 points per game.

She's been the leader of a very young team.

“I've always been around Ava's friends,” Grace said. “Most of the sophomores are Ava's best friends, so I've grown up with them. Some of the freshmen on the team grew up on my street. So it's not like I'm a complete stranger to them and they are strangers to me.

“It's fun playing with my little sister,” Grace added. “I didn't get a chance to play with Zoe.”

Ava has made her presence known in her first season as a starter for Freeport. She is averaging 10.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

She echoed her sister's sentiment about being able to share the court with each other.

“Grace is a very good leader for us,” Ava said. “It's been really fun. We kind of bicker sometimes, but it's all for the team. We play very differently.”

But that works for the Soilises.

“They're different, but they are both coachable kids,” Fred said. “They sort of know what to expect from me. I try to be the same person on and off the court. It's a special time, for sure. No question.”

Sometimes, Grace said, she wonders what it would be like if her father wasn't her coach. To her, it seems he has always been.

But she still wouldn't trade having her dad on the bench, she said.

“It's been special, especially on Senior Night,” Grace said. “It's a plus having those moments. It's something I will always remember.”

Ava admits she and her father are a lot alike.

Sometimes that causes friction.

“We're both pretty hot-headed sometimes,” Ava said, laughing. “We can go at it, but it's a good bonding experience for us.”

Ava said she has always looked up to Zoe and Grace.

“I think I'm the most competitive between the three of us,” Ava said. “I just want to be better than them — I know that maybe doesn't sound good, but that's just my mentality.”

Both Grace and Ava worked relentlessly during quarantine, putting up countless shots and putting in countless hours on their games and conditioning.

It's paid off.

The young Yellowjackets, who have also received stellar play from sophomore Melaina DeZort, who is leading the team at 15 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, are looking forward to the future.

Freeport is 7-1 overall and in the section, the only setback coming against Knoch.

“This has been a good year for us to grow,” Ava said. “This hasn't been a conventional year, but we're growing as a team. We're really young and we're trying to build something for the future.”