Last year in the Class 1A state semifinals, Wonderview’s Laken Ward exploded, scoring 34 points (including 10 points in the fourth quarter) and pulling down 9 rebounds as the Lady Daredevils defeated previously once-beaten Nevada 62-57.
Although Ward scored more than half of her team’s points in that semifinal game, the victory was a team effort that all started with preparation, Ward said.
“We knew how good [Nevada was],” she said. “We knew from the beginning that they were a strong team that didn’t lose. There was a lot of pressure going into that game, but it also made us work so much harder. Coach [Jeremy Simon] pushed us every practice, and we prepared for that game. We executed so well. Everything clicked so well that game. If there was a tie or we were down, we would push that much harder. We boosted each other up. That game was just awesome.”
A week later, in the Class 1A finals at Hot Springs’ Summit Arena, Ward added a double-double — 10 points and 10 rebounds — to her state playoff resume as the Lady Daredevils won their first Class 1A state title by defeating Kingston 44-33. For her efforts, the then-junior was named Most Valued Player of the state title game. For the season, Ward averaged about 12 points per game and about 8 rebounds per game, along with 3 or 4 assists per game, Simon said. Her play earned her all-state honors in Class 1A.
Jump to the start of the 2012-13 season. Ward is a 5-10 senior. She has just signed a letter of intent to play college basketball at Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie, Texas, just 30 miles south of Dallas. And she knows last year’s production and honors mean other teams are preparing for her.
“I need to get stronger,” she said. “I know being MVP that there is just going to be a bigger target on my back. I can’t let [last year] get in my way. It’s another season. It’s my senior year, so I want to give it all I’ve got.”
Last year’s Wonderview team was a talented team. Simon said Ward was able to score 20 points when they needed her to, but “she had some players around her.” This year will be a different story: Ward and sophomore 6-0 guard Bailey Zimmerman — “she’s gonna be a heck of a player,” Simon said — are the only returning starters from that state-championship squad.
“We lost five out of seven starters,” Simon said. “We got Laken and Bailey back, but I don’t know. We should be a team that should be able to make the state tournament, and when you get there, depending on your seeding and how your bracket looks, you might be able to make a run. We are real young. It’s hard to tell how we might do until we get out and start playing good teams.”
One thing is certain: Wonderview will once again depend on Ward.
“She’s a real physical basketball player,” Simon said. “She’s strong around the basket. She’s very aggressive on rebounds and loose balls. She’s just tougher than most players. She has the ability to score around the basket, and she’s developing a 15-foot jump shot.”
For her part, Ward expects the Lady Daredevils to once again advance far into the postseason. The goals are simple: district, conference and regional titles. And then there is the ultimate goal: a state title.
“I think we are going to do really well and go really far,” Ward said. “We are really close as a team and know how to work together as a team. We know each other. I feel like we are going to go far.
“I know I have to work hard and give 100 percent every day in practice, every game, and lay it all out on the court.”
A “preacher’s kid,” church is a “huge thing” for Ward, and besides basketball, the senior also enjoys hunting, fishing and spending time with her family. “Family is a big thing for me,” Ward said. “I’ve got two little sisters. I love helping them get better at everything they do.”
Ward is still working on her game, but beyond her play on the court, she also wants her positive attitude, hard work and dedication to be an example to her teammates.
“I really just want to be a leader for our team,” Ward said. “For me, religion is a big aspect of what I do. God is always No. 1, so I want to show people who I am working for and that all my talent came from him, and all the glory goes to him. I want to share that with my teammates.”