LaNasia Dubois admitted she was a bit nervous about playing such a prominent role on the Beloit Memorial girls basketball team at such a young age.
Who could blame her? Inserted in the starting lineup from day one as just a freshman, the 5-foot-4 Dubois had the tall task of finding ways to make an impact in the tough Big Eight.
Now nearing the end of her sophomore season, it’s easy to see why head coach Dilonna Johnson had no issues making the move.
For her showing, Dubois is the Daily News’ Prep Athlete of the Week.
Johnson and Dubois had just discussed earlier that week what the sophomore needed to average the rest of the season to hit 500 career points.
“I believe she was just laser focused after that conversation,” Johnson said. “A goal that’s important to her is joining that 1000 point club by the end of her senior year.”
Dubois mixed up her scoring against the Lancers: sinking four treys while going 11-of-15 from the stripe.
“LaNasia was just doing a great job defensively,” Johnson said. “Which got her started on the offensive end. She’s doing a great job of being a leader and keeping her head up. She took the right shots and didn’t force anything.”
Dubois summed up her mentality on the court with just one sentence.
“Win the game.”
Basketball has been a part of Dubois’ life practically from the moment she could walk.
“I started playing when I was like two,” Dubois said. “When I was younger, all I ever really did was play basketball.”
All that experience coming certainly paid off when she got to high school.
“A lot of freshmen don’t get that varsity experience,” Johnson said. “She scored almost 200 points her freshman season. We relied on her a lot, and that gives her a lot of seniority over the other sophomores playing in our league.”
In her first year, Dubois played in 18 games while starting in 13. She averaged 9.2 points per game, the third-highest on the team behind seniors Bre Davis and Tajah Randall.
Dubois upped her game for her sophomore season. She leads the team with an average of 12.7 points per game, is third on the team with 87 total rebounds and is first in assists (37) and steals (41).
The young Purple Knights are 3-19 overall and 1-18 in the Big Eight, but with four of the usual starting five being in that sophomore class, there is a lot of potential.
“The chemistry we have is really good,” Dubois said. “We all know each other and what we need to work on.”
And there’s no doubt that Dubois will continue her big role in the future.
“Just being able to coach her is an honor,” Johnson said. “There will never be another LaNasia Dubois.”