Blaine senior ShaRon Miller's love of basketball started as a youngster in elementary school, when she watched her uncles play. Her face lit up as she remembered it all.
"I just fell in love with the atmosphere when the crowd was cheering loud and when they made all their shots," Miller said. "I just loved it. Just the atmosphere, the energy, the competition. It's great."
She hit the court in first grade and went to a few basketball camps.
"When I started learning that you could do all these cool things, I was just like, I want to know more, I want to know more, I want to get that down," Miller said. "It was all just motivation. I just wanted to be better."
Miller, a 6-foot center for Blaine (7-7), leads her team in scoring with an average of 16.6 points per game. Fans can find her in the paint during games, using her physicality to score points or play solid defense.
Coach Chris Brustuen said he expects her to dominate near the basket, and she does, with a knack for grabbing rebounds.
"Her hands are probably the softest pair of hands that I've seen through here," Brustuen said. "They're almost like vacuums."
She uses those hands on the track team, too, in the shot put and discus events. She was hooked freshman year when she learned her work in track could help her arm strength and footwork.