Lorelei Nachman and Rhys Crawford had outstanding freshman seasons, leading their respective squads in points and many other categories. Both are off to scorching-hot starts this season.
Nachman has been otherworldly so far this season. She is averaging 26.5 points a game, which is 7th in the State. She is very scrappy and gets to the basket often. But where she is an outlier is from the three-point range and beyond.
This past weekend, I got to see her in action multiple times. What stands out is just how limitless her range is. Numerous times, she pulled up from what seemed like just inside half-court, lofted a high-arching shot, and nailed it. Each time, I thought it must be the end of the quarter, and she had to shoot. But these were just shots in the flow of the game that she had the confidence to take.
She is hitting threes at a record pace. Currently, she is fifth in the state and first among sophomores in three-pointers made with 31 in six games. It is impressive how she balances her outside and inside play. She doesn't force threes ... and she is hitting 48% from outside. To put that in perspective, the national average, according to MaxPreps, is 23%.
I was able to catch up with Nachman and get her thoughts on the season so far. “I think the key to my start for this season has been all the hard work I’ve put in during the off-season,” she said. “Over the summer, I would play for over two hours a day, getting shots up in the morning and in the afternoon. My teammates are also doing a great job of finding me and getting me the ball. It’s been fun to start the season off so strongly. It’s been super nice to see the hard work I’ve put in begin to pay off like this.”
The Blue Devils, as a team, are off to a solid start with a 4-2 record against strong competition.
On Monday night, I finally caught the boys basketball team. I sat on the baseline just as the game started, and I barely had enough time to turn on my camera before Crawford came flying down the lane with a monster dunk. The crowd went wild.
I have been attending Davis High Basketball games for the past 20 years, and high-flying would not be the first thing that comes to mind. But that is no longer the case. As I looked at my photos to see if I got the shot of Crawford's dunk, he came flying down on a breakaway and dunked again. Within a minute, he would follow a teammate's miss and throw it down. He dunked again and again. When the dust settled, Crawford had 26 points with eight dunks. It was a photographer's dream; if I missed one dunk, there were plenty more.
I caught up with Crawford after the Blue Devils finished off Woodland 86-37 on Monday evening. “We played well on offense and were able to create some easy opportunities on the offensive end. I have been working hard in the off-season on my three-point shooting, but tonight’s goal was to get to the hoop. My teammates set me up great, and I was able to finish. The dunks were fun, but we want to keep getting better and be competitive in our league.”
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