Offseason work made Cayanna Stanley ready to lead Heights girls basketball team
.JPG "Wichita Heights’ Cayanna Stanley")
It’s a nice luxury to have for the Heights girls basketball team when one Division I college prospect is out, another Division I prospect can take her place.
With junior guard Zyanna Walker, who has more than 20 Division I offers, still recovering from a torn ACL in her left knee and out until January, Heights will rely more on fellow junior guard Cayanna Stanley.
Stanley, a 5-foot-6 guard, was up for the challenge in Saturday’s season-opening game at home against Kapaun Mount Carmel: She delivered a game-high 24 points in leading the Falcons to a 68-49 victory.
“She really worked on her shot this summer, and I had (Division I coaches) who have offered her a scholarship call me and ask about her shooting,” said Heights coach Ken Palmer of Stanley, who has multiple scholarship offers, including the latest from Tulsa. “With Zyanna out, Cayanna has to step up and take more shots. She’s worked on that all summer, and as you saw today, she can knock shots down when she gets it going.”
Stanley said it was difficult to work on her game as much as she wanted this summer with gyms across the city closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. But she still was able to put up hundreds of shots per week, as she took advantage of every opportunity she had.
That offseason work was on full display Saturday when Stanley stroked in four three-pointers.
“Shooting was definitely a big thing for me, and I’ve definitely improved over the summer,” Stanley said. “This summer I worked a lot on my shot and trying to perfect it and get more accurate with it. A lot of it is just repetition and muscle memory. Just telling yourself to stay true and follow through, that’s the big key with that.”
Stanley showed on Saturday she is not just a spot-up shooter. In Heights’ dribble drive offense, she has the ball in her hands a lot around the perimeter and has been given the green light to attack.
Three of Stanley’s triples came off the dribble where she was able to create separation from her defender for the space she needed to fire away a clean three-pointer.
“It’s definitely different than just catching and shooting because you’ve got to be in control with your dribble and know when to take your steps and when to pull it,” Stanley said. “It’s a lot of steps to put together with it. But it is similar because it’s all repetition. You just have to do it over and over and over again to create that muscle memory.”
Surrounded by the amount of talent Heights can put on the floor, Stanley’s versatility becomes even more devastating.
Laniah Randle, a 5-foot-10 senior guard, is another Division I prospect for Heights and scored 23 points on Saturday. Transfer Cherish Gails added 12 points in her Heights debut, as well.
“Cayanna is not just a spot-up shooter,” Palmer said. “She can score it off the dribble and she has other options to pass it to. That makes her a triple threat when she has the ball.”
On Saturday, Heights showcased its athleticism and usual brand of full-court defensive pressure. Kapaun virtually played Heights even for three quarters, but the Falcons outscored Kapaun 23-5 in the second quarter and pulled away thanks to its wave of pressure.
Heights will be back in action Tuesday at home against Northwest.
“For our team, we rely on our energy,” Stanley said. “We love to hype each other up and we’re one of those teams that get after it. We’re aggressive, and we get out there and once we get in our groove, watch out. We’re going to get on your butt and get after it.”
| Kapaun (0-1) | 17 | 5 | 14 | 13 | — | 49 |
| Heights (1-0) | 17 | 23 | 15 | 13 | — | 68 |
KAPAUN: Gimino 14, Anciaux 12, Romer 10, Jacobs 8, Quigley 5.
HEIGHTS: Stanley 24, Randle 23, Gails 12, Mayberry 3, Christom 2, Chandler 2, Profit 2.
This story was originally published December 5, 2020 at 5:54 PM.
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