Chris Caporale, sports@wolfrivermedia.com
SYDNEY JENSEN
Gresham girls basketball head coach Vaughn Miller saw into the future.
As an assistant at Bowler High School under his brother, AJ Miller, he faced Gresham’s Sydney Jensen four times over her freshman and sophomore seasons, and despite her youth, she showed signs of progress and skill that intrigued the brothers.
“‘Oh that No. 4, that red-headed girl on their team, she’s a pretty good player. She’s young, but she’s going to be an excellent player,’” Vaughn Miller recalled from a conversation with his brother. “I guess, we were able to see the future because I wasn’t wrong about that. She was a very good player.”
Jensen, who became the school’s fourth 1,000-point scorer in the regular season finale at home last week, has carried the Wildcats over the second half of her final season, averaging 20.5 points per game over her past four games, including Tuesday’s upset of Phelps in a WIAA Division 5 regional quarterfinal.
Gresham travels to Elcho for a WIAA Division 5 regional semifinal on Saturday.
She and her team were made aware of the possibility of hitting the mark with just four games left in the regular season.
“I didn’t think I was as close as I was, and then when he told me, my whole team knew, too, and I think they wanted it as much as I did,” Jensen said. “So they really helped me out with reaching it.”
Jensen, who wants to attend Brigham Young University next fall to study graphic design, struggled in the first half, scoring just six points, leaving her 11 points shy of the milestone. Her second half was stronger, as she reached 1,000 points with roughly four minutes to go in the game.
She became more aggressive with the ball, driving to the basket, but also being assertive and taking the open shots when she could.
“I wanted to get it at home … my last parents night … (so) everyone could see it; my family could see it,” Jensen said.
The forward’s ability to handle the ball and push it up the court when needed has turned into one of her strongest assets, but her improved post moves and rebounding skills in the paint have added another dimension to her jump shot.
“There’s a term in the NBA they use — the point-forward. The size of a power forward, the skill of a power forward but still have the ability and court vision and can run the offense like a point guard, and that’s definitely how I would describe her skill set,” Vaughn Miller said.
Gresham (7-16, 4-14 Central Wisconsin Conference-10) compiled an overall record of 20-63 during Jensen’s four seasons with the Wildcats.
Miller believes that number would have drastically dropped had Jensen not been on the court.
“Maybe her whole career, we win six games if we’re lucky. I think she’s one of the best players to ever play for this school,” Miller said. “I would go as far to say she’s one of the top two greatest players to ever play for this school. I sincerely and genuinely believe that.”