SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Washington senior Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda is a KELOLAND Media Group All-Star Player of the Year Nominee for the second consecutive season, and despite a dominant three-year career for the Warriors, was at her best in her final season.
While a highly ranked national recruit as a junior, Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda’s drive to get better never relented.
“It would have been really easy for her to be comfortable and say, ‘This is good enough,’ but good enough isn’t good enough for her,” Washington Head Coach Jamie Parish said.
One specific area she sought to improve was her shooting.
“Just took it upon myself to go into the gym more, practice more on my jump shot, practice more on my pull up game, practice more on my three’s so I can be more of an asset for my team,” Mwenentanda said.
And the future Texas Longhorn delivered, improving upon every single shooting statistic.
“This season, going from her junior to her senior season, how much she improved her shooting, I don’t know if I’ve coached a kid who’s improved that much in one year,” Parish said.
During her three years at Washington, Mwenentanda has been a key part of their winning ways.
“We lost two in February of the COVD tournament that never happened. We lost two games the following year and won a state championship, and as a senior again, just two losses, and unfortunately one of them came on the wrong afternoon,” Parish said.
While the Warriors fell short of their ultimate goal this year…
“It didn’t end the way we wanted it to. But the whole season we, it felt like a family. We felt like a bunch of sisters together, playing together for each other,” Mwenentanda said.
Mwenentanda will cherish her time as a Warrior.
“It’s just an honor to have gotten the experience, like I said, I wouldn’t take these years that I’ve had with the Washington family for granted,” Mwenentanda said.
Mwenentanda averaged nearly 19 points and 8 rebounds per game this season, and surpassed the 1,000 career point mark at Washington in her final game.
