Presley Meyer dished out assists last year for the Genoa-Kingston girls basketball team at a rate that no one at the school ever achieved.

And that was with just two players scoring over six points a game.

[ Photos: Genoa-Kingston, DeKalb girls basketball meet in summer league action ]

This summer the Cogs have been focused on upping their offense, and Ari Rich has been a piece of that. The 5-foot-7 forward is taking her game inside, working out of both the high and low post to exploit mismatches and help build off the 10 points, 6.1 rebounds and two assists per game she averaged last year.

Rich said she likes how the team has come together so far this summer, especially on the offensive end.

“We’ve already got more people to shoot and score from last year,” Rich said. “There are already more people who can shoot and score buckets than just play defense.”

Coach Doug Brewington said Marissa Poegel is a freshman who’s going to come in and have an immediate impact as an outside shooter to take some pressure off Meyer, a three-sport standout who averaged 18.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.6 steals.

Olivia Leonforte got more and more playing time as the year went on and even got a start. At 5-foot-9, she adds some height down low.

But Brewington said it’s Rich that’s been the biggest breakthrough so far this summer. He’s given her the ability to call the offense depending on the matchup.

“You put a big on her? Cool. We put her on the perimeter, let her drive by you,” Brewington said. “You put a little guard on her because she’s scored a couple points driving, we drop her into the post.”

Rich said the trust Brewington and the team has shown in her has led to a big-time improvement in both her game and her mindset.

“I think it’s giving more confidence to shoot the ball,” said Rich, also a standout catcher for the G-K softball team. “Last year I started shooting more but before I barely shot the ball. I think it’s helped. I know if I’m not doing good I know I can go in the paint, try and help the team out by using my footwork.”

The Cogs started the summer running a more traditional offense, but the end result was the ball out of Meyer’s hands.

So Brewington switched things up and Meyer has the ball much more often and is getting into the paint with it, he said. It’s a tradeoff between offense and defense, but the team has been shining on the offensive side.

“We may take a step back defensively, but we’re taking a step forward on offense,” Brewington said. “We have a couple of kids that can knock down shots. We have a post presence for the first time in a couple of years. All of a sudden the kid who broke the school record for assists last year has more weapons to feed.”

The Cogs went 16-16 last year and dropped their playoff opener to Marengo. They averaged 42.1 points per game.

Brewington said there will be about seven or eight new varsity players on the club this year.

“The last two years of hard work is showing through,” Brewington said. “Her leadership has just been on a different level. She’s a good kid, wants her teammates to have success. I think now that she’s a leader, she’s believing in herself also. It’s been a game changer.”