South Georgia - In The Game High School Sports Magazine

It’s not easy for anyone 5’9” to dunk a basketball. The feat becomes even more challenging when the player in question is a female. Keira Peak, an 18-year-old senior for the Lowndes High Vikettes, is one of the few women’s basketball players who are able to play above the rim. “Yeah, I can dunk sometimes. But I’ve got to have a good day,” she laughs.

When people find out she can dunk, that’s often what dominates the conversation. There is, however, much more to her game than simply dunking. Keira is one of the best women’s hoops players in the region. Despite not playing basketball until she was 13 years old, she has worked extremely hard on her game and has attracted the attention of college scouts far and wide. “She’s the best female athlete I’ve ever coached. She’s a great athlete and a great leader for us,” says Lowndes High head coach Shan Garner.

In addition to basketball, Keira also runs track in the spring. She competes in the 800 meters, 4x100, 4x400, 300-meter hurdles and, of course, the high jump. Keira’s 4x400 relay team finished second in the region last year, and the 4x100 meters came in first. Keira also took first in the region in all the individual events and won the state title in the high jump with 5’6”. Her speed and leaping ability translate well from the track to the hardwood and have helped transform her into one of Region 1-AAAAA’s premier women’s basketball players.

It’s hard to believe that Keira started playing basketball so late. She didn’t play an organized game until she was in the eighth grade.  Her middle school coach, Melissa Harris, thought Keira could be a good basketball player. She was tall for a middle schooler, and Coach Harris saw the athletic ability Keira has. “So I finally went out,” says Keira. Her eighth grade team made the playoffs but ended up getting bounced in the first round. The next year – Keira’s second as a basketball player – she made the Lowndes varsity squad as a freshman and went on to start one game. As a sophomore, she was a member of the Vikettes team that won the region title. Last year, Lowndes finished third in the region.

This season, the Vikettes are off to a bit of a rocky start and struggling to find its identity as a team. At the time of this interview, the team was showing signs of coming together as a cohesive unit and was riding a three-game winning streak. The Vikettes return two starters from last year’s team but have inexperienced players at the other positions.

“In Keira and Amanda Harper, we have two of the best post players in the region. Our guards are getting better, but we’re a mid-level team right now. Hopefully, they will surprise me in the end. We’ll be in the mix,” says Coach Garner. The last five years, Lowndes has averaged 22 wins per season, and he sees no reason why the 2009-2010 team can’t continue that trend. If the team is going to win 22 games, Keira is going to play a big role in the Vikettes’ success. “She has a warrior’s heart and won’t give up. That goes a long way in high school athletics,” says Garner. In Lowndes’ most recent game, Keira scored 22 points, grabbed 15 boards and recorded five blocks and five steals – a performance typical of what she’s done all year. As a junior, Keira averaged 17 points and 12 rebounds per game.

And, of course, there is that dunking thing everyone wants to talk about. She threw down her first dunk as a freshman. “It was on a side goal. I was just fooling around. Someone asked me to try it, and I did. I didn’t think I could do it,” she says. She ended up making it, and has been looking for an opportunity to dunk in a game ever since. “I tried it last year, but the ball slipped. Everyone was on their feet.” Keira’s latest dunk attempt came in a summer game. She jumped high enough, but didn’t quite have enough to finish the play. “At that height, it’s hard for a man to dunk. You’ve got to get up mighty high in a game. She was pretty high in the summer game, but she didn’t make it. She’ll try it again this year. I would, too – if we’re in a situation where it can’t make or break us,” says Coach Garner. In practice this summer, Keira finished an impressive dunk on a brand new goal at local elementary school. “I thought she broke the goal. I was scared I was going to have to tell the principal we had destroyed his brand new goal,” laughs Coach Garner.

As good as Keira is, there are areas of her game that need some work. Because she started playing a little over four years ago, she missed out on a lot of the fundamentals that players pick up when they get started in elementary school. She recognizes her shortcomings and has worked extremely hard to improve her game over the last few seasons. “You are just missing some of those skills when you don’t start playing until you’re 13 years old,” says Coach Garner. Keira, however, has two aces in the hole: She can run and jump. And in high school, that makes up for a lot of deficiencies.

Still, her ultimate goal is to play college basketball. Her game has generated some interest from schools at all levels of the game. Keira has one offer on the table – from Wingate. Georgia Southern and Clayton State are also looking at her, as is Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Florida, one of the top junior college basketball schools in the country. “I’m everybody’s best friend right now. I’m getting a lot of calls about Keira,” says Coach Garner. Keira is looking forward to continuing her career in the college ranks, but isn’t sure where she will play. “I’m waiting on the right offer,” she says. Keira is college-eligible; her grades are solid and she’s passed the graduation test.

Keira is also unsure what she will study when she goes to school. She has varied interests: the culinary arts, early childhood development and computer engineering. She will ultimately decide what she will do when she chooses a school. Right now, she’s focused on the Vikettes’ season and keeping that streak of 22 wins alive.

When she isn’t playing basketball or running track, she is active in Class Cabinet and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Keira is also active in her youth group at Greater Pleasant Temple Baptist Church.

No matter what she does, she will take the lessons she’s learned in athletics with her. “The biggest thing I’ve learned over the years is it isn’t about me. It’s a team effort. I can’t do it by myself — it’s all about the team,” she says. •