Kentridge High School sophomore JaQuaya Miller and the Chargers girls basketball team have one goal this season: make it to the Class 4A state championship at the Tacoma Dome.
“We will be at the Tacoma Dome this year, and there is no stopping us,” Miller said. “Teamwork and communication and we are there.”
Last season, Kentridge had a 17-7 record before being knocked out in the third round of the West Central District tournament with a 49-44 loss to Tacoma’s Bellarmine Prep.
“We were hoping to get a little further but we got tripped up by a better team in that round,” coach Bob Sandall said.
Sandall hopes his team can make it further this season. The Chargers are off to a 6-0 start overall, with three wins in the North Puget Sound League Cascade Division. Kentridge plays at Kentlake (7-0, 4-0) in a showdown at 7:15 p.m. Friday.
“We are looking to get into the final round at the Tacoma Dome,” he said. “All the kids on their goals put that down. It’s certainly achievable.”
Miller, who plays post for the Chargers, said focusing on that goal helps keep the team motivated.
“We will start talking about how we are going to the Dome and how we are going to beat the team we are about to play…” Miller said. “Before our games, we just set up goals for ourselves to help us play better.”
Sandall said he is impressed by his team’s work ethic.
“That’s the thing about this group of kids, they just compete so hard,” he said. “They really get after it. They are on time. They are excited about basketball. They just do all the little stuff that makes them better. They really are a joy to coach.”
Sandall said Miller motivates her teammates to do their best.
“She’s the kind of kid who really makes her teammates better just by the way she plays,” he said.
Miller improved quite a bit since her freshman year.
“She’s really so much more of a mature player now and has a lot more things she can do with the ball,” Sandall said. “She’s way better defensively.”
During the off-season, Miller plays for Tree of Hope, a Girls Elite Youth Basketball team.
“I was mostly just working on being more physical down low,” Miller said.
Her had work is paying off. Miller is one of the top recruits in her class nationally.
“She’s the real deal,” Sandall said. “I am getting a lot of contact from coaches from the Pac-12.”
Miller hasn’t made any decisions about college yet.
“Every new letter I get is just motivation for me to keep getting better,” she said.
Miller has only played basketball for a couple of years and said she got serious about the sport after she moved to Washington from California.
“When I was in California, I really didn’t play as much,” said Miller who is 6-foot-4. “I didn’t really like it just because everyone thought I should play because I was tall. I was starting to notice my dad was in the gym a lot more, so I thought if I could spend time with my dad it would have to be in the gym. I had to learn to love the gym to be around my dad.”
It became natural for Miller to grab the ball and start shooting.
“I like being able to mix my moves up on the players I play against because they never know what is coming next,” she said. “That’s fun for me cause they seem surprised.”
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