Senior scorer Sharmayne Finley shines for Democracy Prep
Democracy Prep senior wing Sharmayne Finley isn’t exactly sure how many points she’s scored in her four years of varsity basketball. Neither is her coach, Wendell West.
The two are sure of this, though.
She scores.
A lot.
Finley, a sturdy 5-foot-9 inch forward, is capping a remarkable four-year career with yet another dynamic season for the Blue Knights. She’s averaging 27.2 points in their first year as a Class 3A program.
Information submitted to the Review-Journal shows she averaged roughly 14.5 points per game as a freshman and 16.9 as a sophomore, before breaking out with 26.8 as a junior (numerous box scores were unreported from games throughout her career).
A review of Finley’s available statistics adds up to 1,424 points, which makes it likely that she has scored more than 1,500 career points in her career.
And counting.
“I can score on anybody,” Finley said. “If I score 20 or less, I feel like I had a bad game.”
West, who doubles as a teacher at Democracy Prep, remembered Finley’s precocious passion for basketball in kindergarten. She played on a boys team in elementary school, and West recognized her potential to become a prominent player in the Las Vegas Valley.
“I saw this probably in the fourth or fifth grade. I knew she was going to be special, just the things she was doing in elementary school,” West said. “Her ball handling, the way she shot the ball at a young age — she’s been a standout.”
So he wasn’t surprised when she led the Blue Knights in scoring her freshman year en route to the Class 2A state tournament.
“She was talented,” he said. “But she didn’t know how talented she was.”
Finley said she contemplated transferring to a Class 4A program after her freshman season, but ultimately decided to stay at Democracy Prep with the hope of “creating something here and getting (the school its) first championship.”
She led the Blue Knights back to the state tournament as a sophomore and emerged during her junior year as one of the top players in the state — regardless of school size and classification. Opposing teams started double and triple teaming her with the hopes of slowing her down.
She still logged multiple 40-point games and led the Las Vegas Valley in scoring.
“That’s what makes the game fun. I’m like ‘Oh yeah, come guard me,’” she said. “I want to see who can stop me from scoring over 30.”
Finley said she’s focusing on other aspects of basketball this season in an effort to earn the Division I scholarship offer that’s eluded her so far.
Coaches from UNLV have watched her multiple times, and she said Hawaii has also showed interest. She’s averaging 11.1 rebounds per game and is making an effort to play with more energy and consistency.
Her scoring, though, is a given.
“She picks us all up when we’re down. She contributes with everybody mentally and physically and she’s a leader,” teammate Monica Marshall said. “Nobody can hold her, and I’m standing by that.”
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Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.