South’s Ericka Mattingly and Kendrian Elliott are three-time 6A basketball champs and BFFs

Wichita South basketball seniors Kendrian Elliott and Ericka Mattingly will be forever linked after leading the Titans to three straight Class 6A girls championships.

Such success was unprecedented in 6A, and the Titans, 71-4 in the past three seasons, are the favorite to win again in March.

While the relationship between Elliott and Mattingly began with basketball, it goes beyond the court.

“I’d call her my sister,” said Mattingly, an All-State and All-Metro selection as a junior.

They have been connected through basketball since they started playing together in elementary school. They played together, spent free time together at tournaments, and talked constantly.

They had their signing party together last month. Mattingly signed with Texas-Arlington, while Elliott signed with Tulsa.

A bit of separation occurred in the past six months, though. They no longer go to Northeast Magnet High together. Elliott transferred to South. Students attending Northeast Magnet play sports at their base school, which is South for Mattingly and Elliott.

They didn’t play on the same summer basketball team, either.

Yet their relationship remained unchanged.

“You may as well say she lives with me,” Mattingly said.

“I’d consider her family over a friend.… Even on school nights, after practice I’ll either meet her at her dad’s or her mom’s,” said Elliott, a three-time All-Metro selection. “I’ll pack a bag and go straight from school and I’ll stay from Friday to Sunday.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t see her, whether it’s practice or I go to her house or we go to a movie. She’s one of my best friends.”

Playing summer ball, they were inseparable at the hotel, always hanging out together. They’d go to their separate rooms to sleep, but when it was time for breakfast, they were back together for the day.

Which is why it was so weird to be apart last summer.

“It sucked a lot,” Elliott said. “… I’m pretty outgoing, but I like to be comfortable. I was comfortable with my teammates and I’m not against making new friends, but it’s not easy to go bond with different girls and play basketball.”

The duo has always had an easy sort of connection on the court. With Mattingly running the team as the point guard, she utilizes her ESP-esque connection with Elliott.

It’s a connection cultivated over too many practices to count, too many games to count and their tight friendship. They know where the other will be and can accurately predict the other’s decisions.

Elliott is a dominant presence inside and has been since her freshman season. She averaged a team-high 13.3 points, 12 rebounds and 1.5 blocks as a junior.

“She’s a great inside presence, and she’s able to shoot it from the outside, which is a beneficial plus,” South coach Antwain Scales said. “… She’s a strong kid who will work hard every day.”

Elliott often is double- and triple-teamed, which gets frustrating. Scales spoke with Heights boys coach Joe Auer about how he helped Perry Ellis, now a senior at Kansas, with such defenses.

“He told me just to get her focused on the little things, on the intangibles that round out her game,” Scales said. “Even if she’s double-teamed, she can do things like rebound and block shots and even sometimes be a decoy.”

Opponents can’t focus all their attention on Elliott, though. Not with Mattingly available.

“She can pick and choose her spots, choose when to score,” Scales said. “There are times I need her to be a facilitator with the basketball and other times I need her to take over a game.”

She averaged 9.5. points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals as a junior.

Mattingly, who has excellent speed coupled with her ballhandling skills, can blow past defenses to the basket. If she draws the defense on the drive, she can dump it to Elliott.

They can’t win their fourth title — or fulfill the goal of an unbeaten season — on their own, but there’s no doubt that their experience and ability is the cornerstone of South’s team.

Both are driven athletes, who are motivated to improve their games to not only continue their success but also ready themselves for college basketball.

Along the way, though, count on them having fun. Elliott is the funnier of the two, and she usually will be able to calm Mattingly, who can showcase a fiery personality.

“She’s funny because of the comments she makes, and her laugh is funny in general,” Mattingly said. “If she makes a funny joke, we continue laughing because of her laugh.”

“I’m the funny one,” Elliott said. “… And she’ll get mad and has this feisty attitude. Like when she’s playing basketball. She needs to be in control all the time. She’s the boss of everyone. But then I won’t listen to her, she gets more mad and I laugh at her.”

Elliott laughs just thinking about Mattingly.

But when the conversation turns to playing without her best friend in college, Elliott turns serious.

“I’m glad that we’ve had the success, and that I could sign with her and watch each other grow,” she said. “I have someone who does the same thing and loves the same thing as me. It’s pretty cool to be remembered together because we’ve done it together.”

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 8:39 AM with the headline "South’s Ericka Mattingly and Kendrian Elliott are three-time 6A basketball champs and BFFs."