Riverview junior earns top honor

Central Arkansas Christian’s Bethany Dillard, right, goes up for a shot while being defended by Riverview’s Abbie Jiles  during the third quarter of the Mustangs’ 58-57 win in the Class 4A girls state-championship game on March 9 at Bank of the Ozarks Arena in Hot Springs. Jiles is this year’s Three Rivers Edition Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
Central Arkansas Christian’s Bethany Dillard, right, goes up for a shot while being defended by Riverview’s Abbie Jiles during the third quarter of the Mustangs’ 58-57 win in the Class 4A girls state-championship game on March 9 at Bank of the Ozarks Arena in Hot Springs. Jiles is this year’s Three Rivers Edition Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

— For Abbie Jiles, basketball has always been the constant in her life.

Jiles grew up in Pocahontas, Arkansas, but moved to North Dakota, where she and her family lived for two years. Last year, they moved to Searcy after her dad, Alonzo, became the pastor at New Horizons International Ministries.

“When I moved here, honestly, I didn’t want to come,” Jiles said. “I went to volleyball practice the first couple of days, and [the girls] were just so nice and stuff.

“Once we started basketball practice, I just knew things would be OK. It was very hard, but you can’t ask for much more.

“I had no idea we were going to make it as far as we did. It was a fun ride.”

Jiles, a junior at Riverview High School, averaged 19 points per game with 6 rebounds and finished as the team leader in steals and blocks. The Lady Raiders finished the year with a 27-10 record and as runner-up in the Class 4A state finals. For her efforts, Jiles has been named the 2018 Three Rivers Edition Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

“I’m sure at times [the transition] was difficult for her,” head coach Ryan Smith said of Jiles. “But she has a very good personality, and she adapts well.

“She has been brought up the right way and has good parents. She makes friends easily and is very outgoing.”

Jiles played just about every sport while living in North Dakota and had considered playing volleyball after moving to Searcy but decided not to so she could focus more on basketball.

“I wanted to better my game,” Jiles said. “I am running track right now, but I thought it would be better to focus more on basketball.”

Smith said Jiles has been used to playing point guard but was moved to the off-guard and shooting-guard position when she started for Riverview.

“So that took some adjustment for her, too,” Smith said. “We want her to go rim to rim because she’s fast and can handle the ball, and she can get around the rim.”

Jiles said that ever since she was little, basketball has just been her natural sport.

“My family is centered around basketball and sports in general,” Jiles said. “My brothers play football, and I played soccer and volleyball before.

“We have just been putting in the work with basketball, and it has been fun. I have just stuck with it, and it is one that has always been at the top.”

Jiles said she enjoyed playing with this team.

“The girls were just having a blast, and that’s how it was all year,” she said. “It was just a blessing to get to play with these girls.

“They opened the team up, and I was able to come in. They were so welcoming; it was just so fun.”

Smith said Jiles’ biggest strength is her willingness to learn.

“She just has a really good work ethic,” he said. “A lot of girls, when they get to the 11th or 12th grade, they don’t work much on their game, but Abbie does.

“That’s why she’s where she’s at.”

As she heads into her senior season, Smith said, Jiles is going to have to prepare for being guarded tighter.

“She’s going to have to use her left hand a little better,” Smith said. “They are going to face-guard her a lot, so she is going to have to improve every aspect.

“She can shoot it well, but she’s got to continue to improve.”

Outside of basketball, Jiles said, she loves going to church and going to school.

“I have grown up in the church life. I love going to and being involved in the church,” Jiles said. “I love school. I am taking some pretty hard classes this year.

“It is fun to be pushed. In North Dakota, the learning styles are just so different, so I am being pushed a little more this year with tougher classes.”

Jiles said her favorite classes are Advanced Placement U.S. history and any math class.

“I love history because it makes you think about things. That’s one of my favorite classes,” said Jiles, who plans to become a dentist. “I like math, too, all types of algebra, and I love to read. Now that basketball is over, I’ve gotten to read a couple of books, and I had forgotten how fun that is.”

Jiles said she looks forward to her final season and wants to try to have a repeat year.

“I hope we can get back to state,” she said. “I feel like we definitely can. We are just looking to improve, and we always want to just get better as the year goes on.

“I want to have as much fun as I can and enjoy it while it is here.

“Hopefully, I can play college ball because I would like to do that.”

Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.

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