Saniya Rivers earns N.C. Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year honor for third time
The accolades continue to pile up for Saniya Rivers.
On Thursday, Rivers became the first girls basketball player in the history of North Carolina to earn the Gatorade Player of the Year honor three times. She is now a finalist for the national award, which will be announced in June.
The South Carolina signee averaged a remarkable 36.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 5.3 steals and 5.1 assists per game. She scored 40 or more points eight times, including a school record 51 against Laney in the regular season finale. Rivers had 10 double-doubles and one triple-double to help Ashley finish 15-2 and reach the 4A East final.
Saniya Rivers is the only three-time N.C. Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year. [Tim Hower/Coastal Preps]
The N.C. Gatorade Player of the Year award has been given out every year since 1986 and three players – Providence Day School’s Konecka Drakeford (1991 and 1993), Butler’s Cierra Burdick (2010 and 2011), Providence Day School’s Jatarie White (2013 and 2014) – previously won twice.
Rivers first won as a sophomore at Laney in 2019 after averaging 24.8 points, 12.4 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 4.1 assists to help the Buccaneers finish 28-1 and reach the fourth round of the 4A playoffs.
She transferred to Ashley for her junior season and became the first player in school history to be named Gatorade Player of the Year. She averaged 25.0 points, 11.8 rebounds, 6.4 steals and 4.3 assists as the Screaming Eagles went 25-4 and advanced to the fourth round of the 4A playoffs.
Rivers finished her illustrious high school career with a record of 96-12 and four Mideastern Conference titles. She also scored 2,501 points, which is 16th in the history of the N.C. High School Athletic Association.
Rivers is currently competing in track & field as a jumper and sprinter. She will head to South Carolina in a few months as part of the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation.
