By Bryce McKinnis
When Berryhill High School shooting guard Leighton Inhofe catches the ball at the wing, she knows that nine times out of 10, fellow junior Ava Slagle will be open on a backdoor cut.
“Being on the court with Ava is so much fun, because it’s almost like we can read each other’s minds,” said Inhofe, whose teammates call her “Bug.”
“Bug is unbothered,” Slagle said. “She is going to take it to the competition no matter what. You can always depend on her to never back down.”
Inhofe and Slagle’s intertwined careers began as early as five years old when they started playing basketball. Since fifth grade, when Inhofe convinced Slagle to join JYD, they’ve also played club basketball together.
“Our friendship goes way back. Because of that, we are completely honest with each other,” Slagle said. “So on the court, we don’t sugarcoat it. We make each other better because of it.”
The dynamic tandem helped lead the Maidens to a 17-9 record last year. Their belief in each other couldn’t be greater as they enter the second half of their varsity careers.
“I hope to see Bug show others how to be a leader like her natural self. I also hope to see Bug break her scoring stats from last year,” Slagle said. “I have high expectations for this year. We have a lot of returning talent. We can go as far as we want to as long as we play together.”
“I hope to see Ava get closer to her 1,000-point goal and to continue to prove that she is one of the top junior athletes in 4A girls basketball,” Inhofe said. “My expectations for this year are to hopefully make it farther in the postseason, grow together, continue playing as a team and learn from every win and loss.”
