Ashley’s Saniya Rivers is having one of the best seasons in NCHSAA history

In her first varsity basketball game, Saniya Rivers made 5 of her 7 field goal attempts and scored 12 points. She also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out six assists.

It was obvious to everyone inside the Laney gym the 5-foot-11 forward had serious game. Her confidence continued to grow that year, and the freshman helped lead her Buccaneers to the 4A East final.

It took a few years, but Rivers is finally back in the Final Four. This time it’s with Ashley and she’s a senior hungry for a state title.

The top-seeded Screaming Eagles will look to earn their first trip to the state championship game when they host No. 6 Garner on Tuesday night at 6 p.m.

The South Carolina signee has been on a mission since the season began and it shows in her incredible stats. Rivers is currently averaging 36.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 5.4 steals, 5.3 assists and 1.3 blocks per game.

It’s already been one of the greatest individual seasons in the history of the N.C. High School Athletic Association and it could get even better.

“She’s a special player and a special person,” Ashley coach Adrienne Gale said. “Not only does she make tough shots over double teams, but she also finds her teammates and gets them the ball.”

Rivers will be listed in the NCHSAA record book in several categories once her high school career is finished. She’s currently 16th in career points with 2,464 and she has a chance to move past East Bladen’s Courtney Melvin and Freedom’s Ali Ford (2,502) on Tuesday.

Her 51-point performance in the regular season finale against Laney is also tied for 12th all-time.

The NCHSAA only lists the top three single season scoring averages and Rivers is just outside the cutoff.

Former Terry Sanford and UConn standout Shea Ralph tops the list at 39.1 points during the 1994-95 season. Ralph is currently in her 14th season as an assistant coach at UConn.

As a senior, Ralph guided the Bulldogs to a berth in the state championship game thanks to wins over New Hanover (57-32) in the East Regional semifinals and Hoggard (69-53) in the East final. She scored 39 points against the Wildcats and poured in 46 against the Vikings.

“It was like a blur,” former New Hanover coach Vertha Dixon-Wright said. “All we could do was watch her go up and down the court that night. In all my years of playing high school and college ball and then coaching middle school and high school, I’ve never seen a better basketball player. 

“They listed her at about 6-foot, but she played like she was 6-9. They played a 3-2 zone with her in the middle and if you made an ugly pass, it was a layup for her on the other end. If you took a bad shot, she would go down and get the rebound and she was gone.”

Clinton’s Mikayla Boykin averaged 37.6 points during the 2016-17 season, including a state-record 63 against Pender. 

East Bladen coach Patty Evers coached against Boykin and has seen Rivers play multiple times. She sees similarities in their game.

“They both see the court so well and they set up their teammates to be successful,” Evers said. “They can also both score at all will. The shooting performance Saniya put on Saturday was phenomenal and it’s very similar to what Boykin did. You can play a box-and-1 on them, but it doesn’t really work. You just can’t guard players like that.”

In order for Rivers to earn a spot on the list, she needs to catch Morehead’s Amy Simpson. She averaged 37.1 points during the 1998-99 season. 

A 42-point performance from Rivers against Garner would bump her scoring average to 37.1. If she can score 44 points, she will overtake Simpson for third place.

Over her past five games, Rivers is averaging an incredible 45.4 points. That includes a pair of 50-point games as well as a 47-point effort against Knightdale in the first round of the playoffs and a 43-point performance against Millbrook in the third round. 

“The level she’s playing at now in the playoffs is a whole different level than what I’ve seen so far from her,” Gale said. “She really wants to do something special and one of her goals was to get back to the Final Four not only for herself but also for her teammates and coaches.”

Garner enters Tuesday’s game with a 16-0 record. They opened the playoffs with an 87-64 win over Purnell Swett before defeating Heritage (53-52) and Apex Friendship (61-48).

Junior guard Jerni Kiaku averages 25.3 points, 4.8 assists, 3.7 steals and 2.6 rebounds. The Trojans also get 11.8 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.6 steals from junior forward Nyah Wilkins as well as 11.1 points, 2.2 assists and 2.1 steals from senior guard Nyema Hicks.

The teams have very similar stats. Ashley averages 65.8 points, 35.1 rebounds and 19.4 steals, while Garner averages 70.9 points, 36.7 rebounds and 16.1 steals.

“They are definitely fast and they have a couple guards who can score,” Gale said. “They also have a couple posts who are aggressive around the rim, so we’ve got to make sure we contain them and keep them off the glass and not allow second and third chances.”