When the Thomas Sumter girls basketball team returned from their holiday break with a matchup against The King's Academy on Jan. 9, Malayia English was ready to pick up where she left off.
The sophomore has been the heart and soul of the TSA offense since she made the jump to varsity basketball, and she hasn't slowed down. She came back from break to pour in 26 points in a victory over TKA and then got the Lady Generals back to .500 as she led the charge to another victory over Trinity Collegiate on Tuesday. Her scoring flash also helped her earn the title of Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week.
"A lot of people really supported me around the school," English said. "It feels good."
While the Lady Generals didn't have any games during the holidays, English doesn't believe in taking any days off. She was working on her craft while she waited for games to resume.
"I stayed in the gym because I didn't want to lose what I had," she said. "I don't really take breaks because I feel like if you're taking breaks, other people are getting better. I just use that as my motivation."
Thomas Sumter head coach Cedric Rembert has felt that drive to improve since he took over the program last season. He feels her hunger to take the next step is what makes English a special athlete.
"Even after practice is over, she always wants extra work, she asks a lot of questions. When she's at home, she's watching games like Duke and USC, and she'll find a person playing her position and really look at them, so I give her homework to do. I always want her to ask a lot of questions," Rembert said. "She's just a special player. Even on our days off, they're not off. I have a Nike app (to track their running), and everyone has to run two miles, and she actually does extra.
"I always tell her, 'Don't be average. Always be above average.' That's what makes her special is when she's not good, she's great."
English is no stranger to the pressure to score. For the last two seasons, the offense has generally succeeded or failed based on her ability to put the ball in the basket. While some of her teammates find ways to step up in support, she's in the middle of it all. She's more than willing to shoulder that responsibility.
"I've had multiple people (guarding) me since like eighth grade when I first got on varsity, so it's kinda been the same thing for the last couple of years. I'm kinda used to it," English said. "It doesn't really stop my game because I feel like I'm going to shine either way."
English also found new ways to improve. Rembert really wanted to make sure she wasn't favoring one hand too much offensively, and she's improved leaps and bounds with her right hand this season.
"She came back strong with that right hand because she's always going to the left," Rembert said. "Last year 99% of her points came from left-handed layups. Now she's taking more mid-range jump shots, she has hit a couple of threes, and she's actually going to the right, making moves. That alone tells me that she's doing what she's supposed to do, and she's trusting her teammates more and more by the day."
The sophomore got started early, scoring six points in the opening quarter before adding 10 in the second. She was able to pull off the gas a bit in the second half with a comfortable lead but still put in 10 points after halftime.
"There was a lot of ball movement, so it opened up a lot of space," English said. "It was just easy for me to get open and find my teammates to pass it to."
English then led the Lady Generals to a hard-fought 43-41 win over Trinity Collegiate on Tuesday. She poured in 21 points in the victory to keep the good times rolling. She also got her teammates involved, as both Annabelle Connell and Natalie Saphore finished with eight points.
"They might've been the toughest matchup of people guarding me," English said of Trinity. "I just looked at it as, if there are two people on me, someone is always open, so I had to make sure to scan the court and make smart decisions."
The Lady Generals only played five games before the calendar flipped to 2025, but they've started the new year in style with three straight wins. English hopes this is the start of something special at TSA.
"We all have a goal to win a championship, so we go into every game thinking that if we want to achieve that goal, we have to play as a team," English said. "We just want to practice how we're going to play. With region play coming up, we just want to win. We just have a strong mindset as a team."
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