When freshmen Alaysha Sutton and U-Nique Longs enrolled at Minneapolis Edison as transfers from embattled Prairie Seeds Academy, girls' basketball coach Greg Gilreath knew he was getting an infusion of basketball talent that would help his program.
He had no idea how much.
Things are looking up for the Tommies after a two-victory 2011-12 campaign in which they were outscored by 40 or more points 16 times.
Friday's 79-67 victory over Minneapolis South improved Edison's record to 10-6 on the season, 3-4 in the City Conference. Pretty much all the credit, Gilreath said, can go to Sutton and Longs.
"U-Nique is the point guard and she pretty much handles the press," he said. "And Sutton is a swing player. She's the person we get the ball into. They have basically carried us."
Sutton is the team's leading scorer, averaging 18.6 points per game, while Longs averages 15.4 points and more than 10 assists per game.
Longs' play has been so impressive that Gilreath, who has been coaching for nearly three decades, has made her a team captain.
"I've never had a freshman captain before," he said. "But she's such a good leader on the floor. The rest of the team feeds off of these two young ladies.
