And rounding out this career lineup, the senior leader, number 33 from Trinity High School, Makayla, Magic Lady. Do you believe this magic? In the first game announcing S.G. Women's Basketball, there was a player named Makayla Leed.
And I mispronounced her last name for about the first five games. Came up with this great nickname in my head of Gliden Leiden. It took me a long time to go with Gliden Leiden, but soon Makayla's play made a nickname simplified. With her leadership, speed, court vision, passing abilities, and quick hands, she plays like an all-time NBA great.
Like her comparison, she can rack up assists and steals like they are nothing. Weirdly enough, her senior stats went up similar to his final year in college. When you average their playing time to similar minutes, Makayla averages 16.6 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game, 7.5 assists per game. For comparison, average 17.1 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game, and 8.4 assists per game.
She is simply magic on the court. While they are much smaller guards on the Saints' favorite critters, she is the point guard of this team. And just like Magic Johnson, even though he was 6.9, he was the point guard and leader of Los Angeles Lakers. Up next is a sit-down interview I did with Makayla before the first round of the 2016-2017 NAI Division Tournament.
This is the first memory you have of the playing best of all. First memory, probably when I was maybe like 5 or 6 years old, I would go outside and play my backyard with my favorite. I would play my backyard with my dog and just shooting around. I would play a lot of times because my other siblings would kind of be together and I would play outside myself.
Did you ever think your best of all career was in danger because I know you had the two ACL tears? I guess in some ways, just because I was nervous and I wasn't going to get a scholarship because I was never playing. So I guess early in my career I was, but not towards the end. Why do you have the picking?
I really liked the nursing program and the campus and the overall feel of the university. You obviously are your nurse, so is that what's next for me, Kayla? Yeah, hopefully, good job. I don't care about the hospital.
They're OR, ICU, something fast, fast-paced. What about being a nurse kind of helps with playing basketball? Would you like to know some other things? Yeah, just being able to pick up the team, kind of get with people, I think that's one of the most important things.
Letting girls on the team know that, hey, this is open, this is open, like, help on the side. Just picking different things. I've only seen your starter, so do you have a natural leader? Can you notice that in yourself?
Not vocally. I mean, I try to be a leader vocally, but I think I lead more by example. Coach said, Mikayla might be the most valuable player in program history. What does that mean to you?
It's really nice that he said that about me. But, I mean, I took that to heart. I mean, I tried to do whatever I came to help the team out. And, whether it's he saying that about me or another person on the team, I'm just happy to be a part of the team.
Hopefully, when I ask him to check in. Because he said that you don't care about sets at all. So what part about basketball is the part that you love? Playing.
Playing and winning. I think it's a great game. It's one of the most fun games I think I've played in the long time. It was because of the revenge or because of everyone's just on fire.
Just because it was, I think, a little bit of both. But it was just like the atmosphere and doing well as a team is what's amazing about it. So, obviously, you're not a vocal leader, but it seems like you do like the spotlight and you do like leading a little bit. Is the tournament kind of your favorite part of the playing basketball?
Yeah. Is this the leader? Yeah. I mean, why wouldn't you?
Because at the end of it, it's all that really matters. Leading up to it. What we miss most of it, that's the best one. Probably our team dynamic.
Being able to have girls that are also teammates with friends and just the memories that we've made together and the bonds that we shared. And being a part of a team obviously, but it's probably one of those. You got about five teammates behind you, which one's your favorite? You better play them.
Um, none of them there. You're the one who's doing the game. You have to do it a lot of things in there. I can't answer that.
After four regular seasons pass and six tournament games, Nikita Leiden will go down as an all-time Saints Seaver-Great. After this regular season, she finished ninth in scoring fourth in field of percentage, seventh in three point percentage, ninth in rebounds, and third in doubles, and eighth in steals. She also currently has a streak of 77 straight games with an assist. An even a nice run in the NAIA tournament can make her the all-time assists leader in Saints Seaver history.
Even though Coach Albert and Magic herself said all she cares about is winning, her stats are very impressive. And all she cares about is wins. Her class will leave SxU as the most winningest class in SxU history. Her accomplishments and play on the court have been incredible, but you can sum up her career in one work.