Killer Combo

Riverside girls' basketball coach Jack Mekilo said one of hardest things to prepare for as a basketball coach is a team with a great inside-outside combination. This year, every team the Lady Vikes play will have to deal with the inside and outside combination of Rebecca Mekilo and Kellie Nash, who are one of top combinations in the Lackawanna Girls' Basketball League.

"You might be able to stop one of them on a given night, but nobody has been able to stop the both of them yet," coach Mekilo said. "That is a tribute to them ... they way they work together and how unselfish they are."

The two are seniors and in their third year in starting roles for Riverside. Mekilo is a guard who possesses a strong three-point shot and is having a strong senior campaign. Nash holds down the post for the Lady Vikes and she does it as an undersized inside player, not afraid to mix it up with taller players in the league.

"They have been through the wars in our league for three years now and we have been able to see them grow into their roles where they are leaders," said coach Mekilo. "They are going out and doing it every night. It is tough when everyone in the gym knows they are going after you and you go out and perform the way they have."

About two weeks ago, Riverside picked up its biggest win of the season to date. The Lady Vikes defeated perennial powerhouse Dunmore at home by a score of 40-37. It was the second straight season Riverside was an unkind host to Dunmore. Last year Riverside broke Dunmore's historic winning streak in the Division II of the Lackawanna Girl's basketball league.

"It gave us a lot of confidence. We haven't lost a game since and hopefully we can keep it going," Nash said of the importance of beating Dunmore.

In the win over Dunmore, Nash battled for 11 points, while Mekilo led Riverside with 14 points, a game high.

Nash is listed at 5-foot-7 and looks more like a guard than someone that plays under the basket, but she enjoys the challenge of playing against taller girls every night.

"Before the game when I see girls that are twice the size of me or a little bigger I try to go a little harder, go after them a little bit more," Nash said. "I try to take them outside a little more. I try to act like I am the same size as them maybe even bigger."

Coach Mekilo said Nash is a force inside and although she is not the tallest girl in the league, she had battling underneath her whole career and she has a lot of moves under the basket. She is also able to get the players guarding her in foul trouble.

"I know how hard she worked the last four years and it is paying off," said coach Mekilo. "Down the stretch it is nice to have somebody to throw the ball to in the post and have somebody that can finish or get to the foul line."

One factor that helps any inside game is a good outside game and that is where Mekilo comes into play. She is a dead eye three-point shooter that can't be left unguarded, which helps open the floor up for other scorers.

"We really work well together and it is because we are friends off the court as well, so we have really good chemistry," Mekilo said of teaming with Nash.

Rebecca Mekilo is the daughter of coach Mekilo and both say they are able to separate basketball from home life, helpping the two enjoy the experience of being together trying to win games.

"Basketball is only talked about here and not at home," said coach Mekilo. "She has gone out and done her thing and no matter who her coach was she was going to go out and have success."

Both girls are part of the track and field program at Riverside and both have plans of attending college next fall, although both aren't settled on a specific location.

Mekilo said she wants to study accounting and Nash is interested in pursing a degree in speech pathology.

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