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Mitchell star can do it all
By JAMAL THALJI, Times Staff Writer TRINITY -- Moira Gustin can play point guard, which is what she spent the last two seasons doing. She can also play shooting guard and small forward and power forward, too. These days, though, she's playing center for Mitchell. What position will the 5-foot-9 senior play in the Mustangs' first-ever playoff game tonight at Leesburg? Probably all five. But then, what's the point of being a versatile player and team leader if you don't get the chance to show off your versatility and team leadership? "It's hard," she said. "But then it's also good to know that Coach looks to me to be able to be so versatile and well-rounded." Indeed. Gustin was already the focus of the team's offense before guard and team leader Brittnee Williamson went down with a season-ending knee injury over the break. Now that Williamson is relegated to the bench as a coach, a heavy brace wrapped around her surgically-repaired knee, coach Steve Knobl has had to rely on Gustin. "After we lost Brittnee as a vocal leader, Moira stepped it up for us," Knobl said. "She became more vocal, and in my mind she's always made us tick offensively. When she's having a good night scoring, it brings out the best in the other girls. "Her versatility is amazing." Gustin has responded well to her new position, leading the team with a 15.3 points a game. Rebounding has been her biggest adjustment this season, yet she's second on the team, grabbing 11.9 boards a game. When point guard Tiffany Bronson regained her eligibility, that freed Knobl to put Gustin to better use. To him, that meant getting her as close to the basket as possible. "Her best attribute is her quickness," he said, "and she just has a knack for going to the basket and getting the job done for us underneath. She has a great jump shot outside and is a pretty good weapon both outside and inside the paint. She's quick off the dribble, which is a big asset for her against weaker defensive players. "Defensively, she's the best player we have. I can pretty much put her out against the other team's best player. She may not shut them down, but she'll control them. "She's the best athlete we have." The Mustangs started the season with high hopes, driven by six seniors who had never been to the postseason. But when Williamson went down, those hopes took a nose dive. Mitchell was stunned by Land O'Lakes in a 26-point loss, costing the Mustangs the second seed in the Class 4A, District 8 tournament. But Mitchell regrouped, and surprised second-seeded Land O'Lakes 54-47 in last week's district semifinals. Then the team clung tightly to Ridgewood in a 39-37 loss in the final. Gustin said those last two games made the Mustangs' season. "Beating Land O'Lakes was great," Gustin said. "The second time we played them, we just fell apart. So we came back with more intensity. We wanted to beat them and we did. It was like redemption."
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