STATE EXTRA: SACCO: Yeah, she was ready

RICHMOND
Somebody throw a newspaper column against the backboard and see if R.E. Lee’s Kendra Scott can snag that too. She needs one to answer the “experts.”

Nah, forget that. Scott wrote her space filler on the Siegel Center floor. She let the so-called sport guys tell the world that this girl, after not playing for months thanks to a chipped bone and hyperextension in her knee, won’t contribute and that they’d take some inside player from the Sisters of The Poor School in some hackneyed dream matchup they envision in their mind.

It wasn’t some dream matchup for Lee and Scott, just business as usual. Business, a long time coming.

That all mattered little to Scott who, after that long layoff, decided to take matters into her own hand, shun the printed word and let the state of Virginia know that she was back.

And, sorry fellers, she was ready to contribute as well.

Every Lee Lady knew it and all a reporter playing sports columnist had to do was ask because, to a girl and the coach that happens to be a man, they would have told you that, yeah, Scott is back. And, yeah, the first few games were rough since her return in the Region III semifinal, but shaking off court rust is like a dog shaking off fleas to a former district first-teamer who would have been there again if not for an injury.

And Scott shook and shook and shook in front of cheering fans, under the bright lights more used to seeing legends born as opposed to rebirths under the rim.

Can’t contribute? It’s going to take time?

What. Ever.

Go back to your dream matchups that will never be to fill up those column inches. Because R.E. Lee assistant coach Katie Brann was in head coach Jeremy Hartman’s ear all day Tuesday and, really, all you had to was ask.

“She said, ‘You gotta let her go,’ ” Hartman said while standing in the bowels of the Siegel Center, his face awash with relief. “Because she’s a game-changer right now.

And she really was, she immediately made an impact.”

Need a shot blocked? Call that a second-quarter impact when Scott, weighed down by a knee brace the size of a Toyota Yaris strapped to her leg, slapped a Lord Botetourt shot out of bounds.

Need offensive contribution? Um, yeah. Let’s call that the “first half” when she chucked up six points and formed an imposing duo with her little cousin, Daquaa Scott.

It was like old times. Just substitute your favorite local gym of choice with Alltel Pavilion and, well, there you go.

“I missed it,” Kendra Scott said, throwing a glance toward Daquaa.

All somebody has to do was ask Angela “Muffin” Mickens and they would have heard that, yes, Scott was going to contribute, and, you don’t need to waste column space to let the world know that it came at the best possible time.

It was, dare we say, worth the wait.

“It’s about time,” Mickens said with a laugh. “But it’s not like it was a surprise to us. She can play and she did what she had to do tonight.”

And while Mickens’ nimble moves though the lane and Daquaa Scott’s Triple H style of play down low garner most of the publicity – and rightfully so, how can you not pay attention to the next future Division I prospect from the area for Debbie Ryan to lose or Daquaa Scott throwing elephants out of the lane like they’re gophers? Kendra Scott has quickly become a fan favorite.

And they cheered. Goodness gracious they cheered. Every time she lifted her bulky rent-a-knee off the floor to block of shot, they took to their feet.

Every time she cut the nylon with a baby-jumper in the paint, they stood and cheered wildly.

She hit three of her seven shots. She pulled down four rebounds. She finished with six points. The biggest stat of all? Try four blocked shots.

“It feels good to be back,” Kendra Scott said, her eyes red with either tears or sweat. Not sure, it’s one question we forgot to ask. “It was great. I missed it a lot.”

So now the Lee Ladies can run those Scott-and-Scott plays down low – a dangerous combination for Freedom to deal with Saturday, let alone the Southern Valley District the season to come.

That’s why you couldn’t wipe the smile off Kendra Scott’s face with a squeegee.

“I was looking for my breakout game, I guess this was it,” she said.

And you couldn’t have picked a better time.

So, you going anywhere anytime soon, Kendra?

“Nope.”

Good thing someone asked.