Confidence Soars For Johnson, Lady Elks

Skyler Johnson, an Elkins junior, takes a shot over Greenland junior Jenny Riggles. left, and senior Morgan Miller during the first half Feb. 1 at Elkins.
Skyler Johnson, an Elkins junior, takes a shot over Greenland junior Jenny Riggles. left, and senior Morgan Miller during the first half Feb. 1 at Elkins.

— Monica Wells had faith in Skyler Johnson.

Teammates knew the Elkins junior had the ability to develop into one most dominant post players in the 3A-1 West Conference.

For Johnson, it was just a matter of believing in herself.

“With Skyler, I think it’s confidence for her and that’s come along this year,” said Wells, Elkins’ girls basketball coach. “She’s the type of person who doesn’t like to get out of her comfort zone because she doesn’t like to mess up.

“But she can do more things than she gives herself credit for.”

This season, Johnson has done plenty to help the Lady Elks pull off one of the biggest turnarounds in high school basketball. After winning just one conference game last season, Elkins jumped to the top of the 3A-1 West this year, losing just one league game at Green Forest en route to the team’s first conference title since 2008-09.

3A Region 1

At Paris

Girls

Today’s Games

Game 1: No. 1 Greenland vs. No. 4 Danville, 4 p.m.

Game 2: No. 1 Paris vs. No. 4 West Fork, 7 p.m.

Friday’s Games

Game 3: No. 2 Mansfield vs. No. 3 Elkins, 4 p.m.

Game 4: No. 2 Cedarville vs. No. 3 Charleston, 7 p.m.

Saturday’s Game

Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 4 p.m.

Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 p.m.

Monday’s Game

Championship

Game 7: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 6 p.m.

And Johnson was a big reason why.

After being slowed by a stress fracture injury in her sophomore season, Johnson has been a force inside the paint for Elkins this year. Averaging 12 points and 10 rebounds per game, the 5-foot-10 junior has teamed up with 5-9 sophomore Maria Hendrix to give the Lady Elks the top 1-2 frontcourt combo in the 3A-1 West.

“Last year gave us more motivation and determination to get better,” Johnson said. “And over the summer we worked really hard to become a better team. So it really hasn’t been a surprise because we knew we have worked hard and this was our goal — to win conference and district and then go on in regionals and state.”

Johnson puts a focus on rebounding, and it shows on both sides of the floor. While her prowess for grabbing missed shots helps to limit opponents’ shot attempts, her knack for attacking the glass is also a big reason why she’s the second-leading scorer on the team.

“I most definitely focus on my rebounding, for myself,” Johnson said. “I’ve worked on offensive rebounding, and when I can get the offensive rebounds, I can score.

“For me, scoring comes with the rebounding. If I’m getting the offensive rebounds, then I can score.”

Elkins (15-11) suffered a slight setback in the district tournament, losing a first-round overtime game to Cedarville that dropped the Lady Elks to the No. 3 seed at the Region 1 Tournament in Paris.

Elkins will face Mansfield — the No. 2 seed from the 3A-4 — at 4 p.m. Friday, with the winner earning a trip to the Class 3A state tournament.

“As a team we really want to win state,” Johnson said. “Losing in the district tournament is only motivation and that was just a short-term goal. So hopefully we can bounce back and do well from here.”

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