Amherst enjoys an abundance of riches at point guard position

AMHERST - Grace Moe grabs the rebound and dribbles down the court like a blue streak before unleashing a no-look pass for a layup.

On the next possession, Ashley Groshek brings the ball upcourt. Dissects and prods the defense to get in the lane and dishes off a lookaway pass for a layup.

Groshek and Moe run the show for an Amherst basketball team making its first WIAA state appearance since winning it all in 2009.

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Watching each of them dissect a defense and more often than not find the open girl is a pleasure to watch unfold on a basketball court. To do it with a little flair is a bonus.

"It’s just a different look, it’s hard to describe," Amherst coach Gregg Jensen said. "It’s a different pace to them, a different style to them."

He realizes more than most the Falcons (25-1) likely wouldn't have a date with St. Thomas More (21-5) in a Division 3 state semifinal Thursday at the Resch Center without Moe and Groshek.

Most high school basketball programs are happy to find one point guard.

Someone capable of limiting turnovers. A player with the ability to find the open girl. Or make sure to continually get the ball to a player with a hot hand.

Jensen understands having a pair of talented ball handlers and distributors to fill that role is a luxury.

"I've had discussions with coaches about do you want a good post or a good point guard,"  the Falcons coach said. "You can have a good post player, but she’ll never get the ball without a good point guard.

"Points guards are tough to come by. And when you have a good one you need to appreciate it. They have to take care of the ball. If you take care of the ball, you get more shots."

Groshek, who practiced with the varsity as an eighth-grader, had an early leg up in the competition for the point guard spot. Moe came off the bench as a freshman.

That time served as a great training ground for what was expected and required from the point guard position under Jensen.

"That was helpful for me because I was able to get the main idea of being a point guard already under my belt," Groshek said. "He gave me his ideas. He definitely doesn’t stop helping you get better because he doesn't let the little things slide."

Listed at 5-foot-7, Moe and Groshek start now.

Groshek has the strength to cope with the physicality that comes with getting into the paint and people are trying to rip the ball out of your hands.

With a slight build on her frame, Moe relies on speed and quickness to burst by defenders and get to the basket.

Their games complement one another perfectly. In the slight chance you keep one of them under wraps, the odds are the other one is shredding your defense with pinpoint passes for easy baskets or wide open looks from behind the arc.

"I’ve been playing with Ashley since we were little," Moe said. "We do push each other. We work off each other most of the time and use our vision to get the ball to people who are open.

"If one of us is having a bad game, the other one is able to pick you up. It's nice not to have all the pressure on you and having someone next to you to do the same things we need."

Make no mistake, priority No. 1 for a Falcons point guard is to run the offense. Penetrate when an opening is available against the defense and distribute the basketball.

Groshek and Moe handle those duties and make it look easy. Both have developed into assist machines during their high school careers.

Moe leads the Falcons with 142 assists through 25 games. Groshek has dished out 122 assists this season.

Often that has meant getting the ball in the hands of the low post tandem of Heather Pearson and Lauren Boelte in prime scoring position. At other times the point guard sisterhood finds people cutting to the basket.

"We talk about (having vision) out of any position but especially the point guard position. It’s about seeing the floor and knowing where people are," Jensen said. "It's the difference between your really good point guards and your average point guards.

"Some people naturally have (the vision). Some never develop that. (Ashley and Grace) have that vision."

The Falcons are fortunate to have a pair of point guard who can handle whatever the opposition or their coach throws at them.

And when needed Moe and Groshek can score, too. Moe shared team scoring honors with Pearson in the sectional final win over Southern Door.

Groshek averages 6.7 points a game and Moe scores at a 6.5 point per game clip. 

"We definitely looked to score more before we got to high school," Groshek said. "When we were both freshmen, we might look to score more because we didn't have a lot of people to fill that role. Now we can do a little bit of both (distribute and score)."

Moe brings the added dimension of wreaking havoc on the defensive end of the court, too. She tops the Falcons in steals with 79.

The preference is to have both of them on the court at the same time, according to their coach.

Groshek and Moe need breathers at times due to their relentless motors. Foul trouble can also dictate breaking up the dual point guard deployment.

So their coach tries to give one or the other out for a brief spell early in games. When she comes back in, it's time for the other one to get a break.

The goal is to have Groshek and Moe on the court when it matters most at the end of games.

"Because they’re both good players, you like to have them on the floor," Jensen said. "You feel pretty good with either one of them in there. You feel even better with both of them out there."