Glamour Girls: Cedar Valley Women's Basketball Radiating in 2023-24

By Jim McCurdy

LANCASTER, Texas – Cedar Valley women's basketball is all about style and substance, all packaged together as one.

Look good, feel good. Feel good, play good. That's the underlying theme. And for the Suns, they certainly wear it well. Of course, with this flashy style – the team was all decked out in black for its team photo shoot this season – comes restrictions.

Or so they have learned to adopt.

Freshmen forwards Vivian Nwabufo and Precious Jackson-Sanders are known for their big eyelashes, even donning them in games. However, head coach Latasha Keith wanted to put the kibosh on that, at least while they are in uniform.

"I love having eyelashes on," Nwabufo said. "I'm always going to put on eyelashes. It makes me play with more confidence, knowing that I can look pretty while playing. It gives me a boost up when I play, knowing that I can look good and play for my team."

Now, don't be mistaken, Nwabufo confesses there was a game when she didn't wear her eyelashes, and she became a vacuum cleaner on the boards. She grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds in a 65-58 win over Jacksonville College before the holiday break. Her coach won't let her live that down.

"I guess that's why she said that," Nwabufo said. "There are times when I do get tired of wearing my lashes. I try to balance them out."

Keith may just be the ultimate equalizer as to when they're coming off. Meaning game days.

"They have removed the eyelashes, and they're playing a lot better without them," Keith said, chuckling. "We cracked a lot of jokes about the big eyelashes. You can't see with them, so take them off. They wear them, and they can't see anything. You can't shoot free throws, they can't rebound. Take them off, and they're outstanding. Now we're working on the hair."

Wait, hair, too? Yes, and there's more ...

Many of the Cedar Valley players have longer hair, sometimes laid out in braids. Recently, they've been instructed to tuck their hair inside their jerseys during games.

"They have the longest hair, and they have these braids, and I don't know why someone told them …" Keith explained. "When you see them again, they'll have to tuck their braids in their jerseys. How can you walk around with that long hair like that? It's ridiculous. But hey, generationally, they love long, long hair."

Closet of Layers

Long hair, loud hair, it all adds up to a certain flair about this Suns team that gives it multi-dimensional layers.

"One of the biggest things I learned about this group of girls, I feel, is just how important of a skill it is to be able to work with a diverse group of people – the group of people who come from many different backgrounds, but still apply effort consistently to reach a common goal," sophomore guard Tori Ransom said. "We all bring strong personalities, and they all play their part on and off the court."

On the court, the Suns bring style and substance, and it starts with the coach. One of the best dressed women's basketball coaches around, Keith has a new outfit for every game.

"When it comes to me as a coach, and on the court, I have to show up for them," she said. "One thing about me, I'm not going to step on the court in sweatsuits and tennis shoes. I think that's inappropriate. I feel like when you're on the sidelines, you're coaching, you're in a professional setting. I feel like you should carry yourself, just like an interview for a job. Now, when it comes to their hair, I love colorful hair. I love for them to express themselves. But when you have to keep stopping in a game, tying it up, and all this stuff … that's a distraction. If I'm wearing some heels that hurt my feet, I'm not going to wear them. So wearing real, real long hair, you have to tuck it in your jersey. You can't rebound, and it's all over the place, and things like that. So when it comes to their hair, you've got to figure out a way to do something with it. Wrap it up, tuck it in your jerseys. That has been the most helpful. And I never knew that until they started doing it. You'll see it: they tuck their hair in their jersey, and it doesn't come out. It doesn't get in the way."

Of course, Keith is going to continue brandishing her own style on the sidelines.

"Every game, it's whatever she's feeling," Nwabufo said. "Any type of feeling that she has, she will put it on. Let's say she's feeling happy, she's going to show her emotions with her outfit, and it comes out good every time. I don't have bad things to say about her outfits because she comes through with her heels, with the jacket and her hair. She comes through every time. It makes me happy. I'm like, 'OK Coach.' It kind of gives me a confidence boost. I'm not going to lie. Everybody's just staring. She walks through the doors, looking good from head to toe."

Seemingly, Keith's ever-changing outfits have an effect on her players.

"Oh, they love it," Keith said. "They love my style. I have a lot of girly girls. And they just like to dress up, with the nails and the hairstyles. You get a new hairstyle every week. I just tell them, 'It's important for me to look good.' You look good, you feel good. At the end of the day, I feel like I'm their first representation for when it comes to professionalism, how I carry myself and how I dress. All of that goes hand in hand. And when I step out on the court, I'm representing them, but I'm also representing Cedar Valley and Dallas College Athletics."

One can only imagine Keith's bedroom closet – a spectrum of vibrant colors with a wardrobe that has no limits.

"Everybody likes to express themselves," Ransom said. "Some girls, they still find a way to have their nails on in practice. Even Coach, some of her outfits are really bold. I feel like it's her whole manifestation of, 'You look good, you play good. You look good, you feel good.' I feel she tries to impart that on us by doing it herself. Just making sure we're always carrying ourselves with that chin-up, chest-out attitude. Like she says, 'You dress the part. You want to feel confident, dress however you want to.' So I respect it all, everybody's different way of expressing themselves."

Forrest Gump would have a field day with Keith's game day attire. It's like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.

"Some people can see an outfit like that, and it would be like, 'That looks good. I'd like to wear it,'" Ransom said of her coach's wardrobe choices. "But to actually be the one to put it on and wear it, and display it, it takes a certain level of confidence. Some outfits are really creative or not conventional, but it's a bold thing to do."

For sure, Cedar Valley's glamour look brings out the sizzle in the Suns.

"I think this era of young women, they see it on TV, they look at women's basketball, and you know, colored hair," Keith said. "It's not a distraction as what I thought it was years ago. I want my girls to be comfortable, and I want them to express themselves."

When it's not game day, and the team is out together, players are encouraged to express themselves in a classy way. They've held sleepovers, and taken each other out for special occasions. When Jakayla White celebrated a birthday, some of the Suns gathered for the occasion.

"Everybody was looking good," said Nwabufo, who did not join the celebration, but saw pictures on social media. "Everybody had their own style."

Cedar Valley Vibes

A stroll through the hallways in Suns' Country around this women's basketball team oozes with optimism. The aura in the Suns' locker room is one trending north. That's been the overriding sentiment since the beginning of the year.

"What I like about this team, in general, their mindset is a lot different," Keith said. "They have a winning mindset. They encourage each other, they push each other. They're very coachable. They're willing to learn, and they're smart."

In a win over Southwestern Assemblies of God University Jan. 9, the Suns assisted on 26 of their 35 field goals, matching a season high. Cedar Valley also had 26 assists in a win at Dallas College Richland in early December, but that was on 43 field goals.

"The 26 assists, that tells me a lot about the chemistry," Keith said. "They trust each other. They're their biggest support system."

Sophomore guards Mia Thomas and Carmela Hayden lead the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game. Sophomore point guard Deja Thomas is averaging 11.4 points and a team-best 5.2 assists and 5.7 steals per game. Jackson-Sanders is scoring 10.7 points, while grabbing a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game, and shooting 57 percent from the floor. Sophomore forward-center Taylor Elam is averaging 7.1 points and 4.4 rebounds. Sophomore forward Nekayla Williams is pulling down 6.1 rebounds, and scoring 5.7 points.

"We've come together pretty good," Nwabufo said. "We've gotten comfortable with each other, and our chemistry has gotten a lot better since the beginning. Some of our games have been tough. Coach always makes sure we stay on our A game. She always says we need to get the rebounds, crash, crash the boards. We've been mentally challenged. She always pushes us a lot. She brings out the best in everybody."

They're expected to support each other, regardless of their role. Ransom can relate to this. A transfer from North American University in the Houston area, the Tyler, Texas, native was cleared to suit up after the holiday break. Knowing she'd be around the team for the first half of the season without being able to play required commitment. She was willing to make the sacrifice.

"Whenever Coach and I found out that I wasn't going to be able to participate in the first half of the season, she and I both made a point to make sure my focus was on still staying engaged and involved with the team, and what's happening in games and practice," Ransom said. "Honestly, joining in even at this halfway point in the season kind of has been like a seamless transition for me. Kind of just hopping in, staying engaged in practice and games, I'm kind of in a position where I'm able to make an impact now."

Bracing for Big Games

Cedar Valley's camaraderie this season is something past Suns teams were lacking. This year, there's a noticeable bond that pulls this team together.  

"They have each other's back," Keith said. "If a girl is going through something, and I don't know about it, and I hear word of mouth or I see it … the sisterhood is really, really big, and I can appreciate that as a women's basketball coach. I'm big on team ball, and this really is a good team that plays together. So I'm looking forward to (these conference games). They know how important Richland is. They know how important Mountain View is, not to take them for granted, either one of them. I'm just looking forward for them to take care of business, and apply the things that we've talked about in practice and what we've showed them to prepare and compete in these tough conference games."

Following Tuesday night's game at East Texas Baptist University Junior Varsity, the No. 8-ranked Suns (9-5) begin Dallas Athletic Conference play Thursday at No. 12 Dallas College Mountain View (8-5). Cedar Valley beat Richland in a nonconference game in early December. The Suns will see the Thunderducks again a week from Thursday at home.

"We've been preparing for this," Nwabufo said.

It's been a journey where the Suns have routinely sized themselves up against each opponent that comes their way. That includes themselves.

"I really just think that the success that we've been experiencing has just been coming from being intentional," Ransom said. "We have a lot of talented players on our team. We could be like, 'Talent's going to take us all the way,' but we've been intentional with making sure we do the little things, and learn the little things. So the talent is shining through right now, and when we get down the stretch towards competing for conference and district titles, we're doing the little things that keep us in the competition. I feel like really no one can beat us, but us. If we eliminate that opponent that we have – ourselves – I don't really think anyone can beat us. Now we're just in that stage where we're figuring out how to get it that way to where it's us against everybody else."

Dress the part, play the part.