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Na'Haviya Paxton led the county in points, rebounds and assists to lead Columbia back to the playoffs. (JEN CHASTEEN/Special to the Reporter)
When last year’s top player, Quianna Dillard, chose not to return for her senior season, Columbia needed a new leader to step up.
Head coach Anthony Perry didn’t turn to a senior or a junior. Instead, he challenged his sophomore point guard Na’Haviya Paxton.
“I remember at the beginning of the season Coach Perry was like, ‘You can average 20 points a game,” Paxton said. “I know he expected a lot from me so I just worked really hard to do whatever I could for my teammates and my coaches.”
Paxton didn’t quite average 20 but she filled the box score night after night. She led the county with 16.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, while also nabbing 4.7 steals a night.
Her consistent play all season long led the Lady Tigers to their second straight playoff berth and a 21-8 record. That’s why she’s the Lake City Reporter’s Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
“Truthfully, I think when the realization set in that Quianna wasn’t going to play, that helped Na’Haviya as far as she knew what her role was going to be,” Perry said. “It just got a little bigger and the weight she was going to have to carry was going to be a little heavier. And she stepped up.”
Paxton nearly doubled her point total from her freshman year when she averaged 9.6 per game. Her rebounds also went up from 5.2, as did her steals at 2.6.
Perry’s challenge turned Paxton into a dynamic player. She also scored 25 points in three different games this season and was named MVP of the Hitchcock’s Challenge holiday tournament.
But read Paxton her numbers and she’ll tell you she can still improve. She was satisfied with her progress from her freshman to her sophomore year but she wants to be even better when she takes the court as a junior.
“I felt pretty good about it but I thought I could’ve done a little better in some categories,” Paxton said. “But I know over the summer I’m going to work hard. I felt like my freshman season could’ve been better so I worked hard and made a big jump.”
Perry says Paxton’s love for the game has a direct correlation to how she plays. It’s never hard to get her to practice or improve and that led to her jumps in her sophomore season.
But what did surprise Perry was Paxton’s ability to take her game to another level against tough opponents. She scored 25 and 20 in two of the three losses to Lincoln, which won the district title, and 20 in Columbia’s playoff loss to Creekside.
Even when her team is down, Paxton keeps playing hard.
“What impressed me most about her overall was the fight she displayed,” Perry said. “I always knew she was tough and I always knew she would give me all she had on the court, but she hit another gear in a couple of games, especially with Lincoln. It let me know that even though she’s as good as she is, she can still improve and go farther. So she pushed herself to do more this year and that surprised me. When you think she’s giving it all she’s got, she’ll hit another gear. I saw that this year in her.”
Paxton's goals next year are to win a district title and get out of the first round of the playoffs. Columbia has been a district runner-up in Paxton’s first two years and both seasons ended one-and-done in regionals.
This year it was Lincoln that topped Columbia for the district title. Then Creekside ended the Lady Tigers’ season in the playoffs after losing the teams’ regular-season matchup.
“I feel like we all know if we worked harder we could’ve won that game,” Paxton said “But losing that game, like we did last year, in game one of the playoffs really hurts us so we know next year we’re going to have to work extra hard. It’ll fire us up and make us want to go harder.”
Paxton plans to do just that. She doesn’t plan on losing out to Lincoln in next year’s district either.
In fact, she eyes even bigger things in her junior year.
“I’m looking forward to winning a district championship, maybe even state,” Paxton said. “That’s the main goal.”
ALL-COUNTY TEAM
Dacaria Armsrong
Fort White, Forward
The junior led the Lady Indians with 14 points and four rebounds per game.
Amaiya Callum
Columbia, Forward
The sophomore was second on the team in rebounds at six per game while averaging 4.7 points.
Bree Dixon
Columbia, Guard
The senior averaged 8.5 points per game with 5.1 rebounds and 2.5 steals.
Anzarria Jerkins
Columbia, Guard
The sophomore led the county with 5.1 steals per game while averaging 11.3 points and 3.8 rebounds.