She's the team's rookie, the little sister, but recently Ridgeland eighth-grader NyJae Boozer has shown she belongs.
The 5-foot-8 Boozer began the season expecting to eventually be an important part of the Jaguars' girls basketball team's inside game, but since the season opener Boozer's said she's been comfortable making the jump from junior varsity to varsity.
Last week Boozer proved it.
In a 37-27 victory over Region 5-A foe Bamberg-Ehrhardt, Boozer started and scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
"Could you ask for anything more for an eighth-grader?" Ridgeland coach Frederick Toomer said.
The next night, at rival Hardeeville, Boozer again started and scored eight points and had nine rebounds. Her four points in the third quarter helped Ridgeland to a 52-38 victory.
Boozer (8.8 RPG) and junior 5-foot-9 Tiara Nelson (14.2 RPG) lead the team in rebounding. Ridgeland doesn't have the safe haven this year of 6-foot Brittany Richardson, but Boozer and Nelson have given the team an inside presence.
"They are coming along very well," Toomer said.
Boozer wasn't sure she was ready for the varsity. At the end of last season she joined the varsity as it made its way to the Class A state championship. She didn't see the court often, but learned from Richardson and Briana Walker.
She was uncertain about being an eighth-grader on the varsity this season but was encouraged by JV coach and varsity assistant Trent Duncan.
"I was nervous, I didn't want to go up," Boozer said. "But Coach Trent said, ‘You can do it.' "
Competing for the varsity gave Boozer a jolt of confidence.
"I felt like I accomplished something," she said. "It made me feel like I was one of them. I used to feel different, but now I believe in myself. I can do the same thing as everybody else."
Boozer made an instant contribution in Ridgeland's 39-30 season-opening win against Hilton Head High. She had three rebounds and a layup in the fourth quarter gave Ridgeland a 33-24 lead.
"That first game felt good," she said.
Boozer relishes encouragement from her teammates. She said they'll joke with each other on the floor, but the veterans are always offering support.
"Your team gives you advice, a pat on the back, it makes you feel like you want to keep going," Boozer said. "We are like a family even on the court."
The Hardeeville game was a rare time when she felt pressure. Boozer said she was nervous in the first half, but settled down. She dove for a loose ball early in the second quarter and made a layup to tie the score 19-19 with 3:29 remaining in the half.
Boozer said there's been a transition going from JV to varsity. No longer can she grab rebounds with one hand or just reach above her opponents. Boozer has learned the fundamentals.
"You have to be ready to go from the jump," she said.
Boozer works on boxing out and rebounding with two hands is something she makes sure to do in practice and games.
"At the JV level, I would just get the ball when I see it," Boozer said.
Ridgeland lacks the size it had last year, but with Nelson, who had 15 rebounds against Hardeeville and 22 against Bamberg-Ehrhardt and Tiara Eady (5-9), the team might have enough size to repeat as champions.
"We want to let people know we might be able to make it again," Boozer said.