HINES FURNITURE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Sumter High's Ross dominating in new role as an eighth-grader

Sumter High's Araina Ross already broke out last season when she made her varsity debut as a seventh-grader, but she's taken her game to a new level so far this year.

With all-state point guard Kiara Croskey healthy and back in the fold, Ross is spending more time in the post this season and making a big impact.

During the last two weeks, which were dominated by rivalry games with Crestwood and Lakewood, Ross poured in an average of 17.8 points while also averaging 8.3 rebounds, 5.3 steals and three assists. Her performance for the Lady Gamecocks, who are ranked second in SCHSL 5A, was enough to earn recognition as the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week.

"It felt like I had the Sumter community on my side with my family, my teammates," Ross said. "When this community really wants to pull itself together, it really can."

December has mostly been spent playing against two rivals, which were all blowouts for the Gamecocks. While Ross poured in the points, she wasn't worried about scoring.

"Playing those games, you can't go in thinking you're going to score all of these points because it's a rival; instead this is a time to show your team's talent, how many assists you can get, how you act off the court when your teammates score," Ross said. "For me, it wasn't about how many points I scored. It's how the Sumter Gamecocks can play as a team."

Ross' improvement this season has been based around her flexibility. She showed as a seventh-grader she could be an electric wing player, but she's developed into a physical force in the paint.

"The biggest thing is her ability to play both outside and inside," SHS head coach Jeff Schaffer said. "What's probably helped her the most is the ability to get down in the post and get a few putbacks, get a few rebounds, and the nice thing is when she gets a rebound down there, she can take it the length of the floor herself. She doesn't necessarily have to give it to one of the guards. That's been the biggest stride I've seen her make is her openness to be willing to go down there and work down in that post because she didn't have to do a lot of that last year."

A year of experience also helped. Ross said she's far more used to the pace of the game at this point, even though she's still only an eighth-grader.

"It's been a little easier. Last year, I was new to the pace of a high school game. I really didn't know any of the plays," Ross admitted. "This year, I know more plays, my chemistry with the girls has improved tons, and the game has slowed down a ton. It's not like I have to rush anything. I can trust my teammates that they can put the game at any pace that they want, and we're still going to get the bucket."

She gives the four seniors, fellow post player Dalashia Brunson and guards Croskey, Keziyah Sanders and Rickell Brown, a lot of the credit in her development.

"The seniors have always been there guiding me through everything," Ross said. "I really appreciate the seniors because without them, I probably wouldn't have been in the starting lineup like I am now. They've helped me improve my game tons."

While the points are nice, what has impressed Schaffer is Ross' ability to defend and rebound from the post.

"The biggest thing is she learned how to play in the post defensively," Schaffer said. "Being undersized, that's a big thing for her to be able to do. She's learned how to stay on the top side of bigger offensive players, and that's something a lot of college players don't get comfortable doing. She's been able to use her athleticism and her speed to get around the bigger post players."

For Ross, defense is all about effort, and she's more than willing to give 110%.

"It's all about the hustle," she said. "For me, defense isn't a skill thing. Offense is a skill; you need more skills on offense than you do defense. You can get on the floor and decide you don't want to play defense or rebound. It's all about your hustle and what motivates you."

And Ross is motivated by the championship that looms at the end of the season. The No. 2 Lady Gamecocks have gotten so close to a title, making it to at least the final four in each of the last three seasons, but they want to finish the job this time.

"This season, we plan on going all the way," Ross said. "There have been a few years where we went halfway there but we never accomplished what we needed to accomplish. This year, I feel like this is the dream team, this is the team that has the most motivation to go do what we plan to do, and we're going to do it this season."