Sofilia Ngwafang literally did not know what to do with herself until she transferred to Paint Branch.
As a freshman on the basketball team at Blake, Ngwafang lacked confidence. Here was a 6-foot-4 post player, a matchup nightmare for the host of girls’ basketball teams that rely on 5-foot-8 girls on the block, but Ngwafang was hard-wired to draw attention away from herself. She said she had always been teased as “the bigger girl” in every situation.
With help from Coach Rochelle Coleman and counselling from Panthers’ alumni, Ngwafang has learned to drop-step and position her body to her advantage. After a two-year maturation period that saw her average more than 11 points per game and become a key component to Paint Branch’s run to the Maryland 4A state final as a junior, the now garrulous senior has accomplished something else she never thought she’d do: earn a Division I basketball scholarship.
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On Monday Oct. 13, Ngwafang orally committed to La Salle. Before she called Explorers Coach Jeff Williams, she dialed Marshall and Liberty to let them know she had decided to play elsewhere.
“I knew I could play, but if someone asked me if I could play at the next level in college, I would have said no,” Ngwafang said. “Coach Coleman taught me to be comfortable with my height and to be strong. Because of that I can play in college.”
https://twitter.com/QueenS__35/status/653920883489292288
2016 6'4 Sofilia Nwgafang, Paint Branch will continue her education and Bball career at LaSalle Univ....congrats @QueenS__35 proud of you!
— TeamTakeoverGirlsBB (@TeamTakeoverGBB) October 13, 2015Ngwafang said she picked La Salle because she felt comfortable with Williams and she liked the faith-based atmosphere of the private Catholic university in Philadelphia.
Williams “makes you feel like he’s your grandfather,” she said. “He’s just very caring… He talks a lot. He makes sure you understand.”
“She had to realize, like, ‘I’m 6-4. No one can really stop me,’” Coleman said. “She can run the floor. She has good hands. She has good feet… If you can get someone that size to realize their worth, it’s dangerous for everyone else.”
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Coleman could not send that message on her own. She called in 6-foot-5 Goucher College center Amaka Ezeani and senior Maryland guard Brene “Bones” Mosely, both Paint Branch graduates, to mentor Ngwafang.
Coming into her own after two years at Paint Branch and time on the AAU circuit with Team Takeover, Ngwafang is looking forward another postseason run in her senior season.
“We just have to take everything seriously this year,” she said. “We want a state championship.”
NUMBER CRUNCH: 4
Consecutive aces for Langley senior Krisitian Stanford in a 25-18 first set that helped the Saxons sweep Madison volleyball last night.
BREAKFAST LINKS:
PHOTOS FROM LAST NIGHT:
Scenes from the aforementioned Saxons’ sweep:
Langley Saxons fire past No. 7 Madison with three-set win
The Saxons followed the lead of senior Kristian Stanford to a three-set upset of No. 7 Madison.
The way Potomac (Md.) beat Douglass was ridiculous. You have to see this go-ahead touchdown.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
Check back with AllMetSports.com for Top 10 rankings and notebooks covering field hockey, volleyball and boys’ and girls’ soccer later this afternoon.
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