Niagara Prep guard the full package
She may only be 5-foot-3 but it’s hard to overlook Sarah Te-Biasu on the Niagara Prep Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association team.
In two games this season, the 18-year-old Montreal native is averaging 30 points, including 26 in an 86-49 victory over Southwest Academy Thursday at The Gate in Niagara Falls.
“Sarah is the best guard in the country,” Niagara Prep head coach Dave Picton said. “She played on the under-19 national team as an underage.
“Her energy level is amazing, her skill set is just off the charts and there’s just isn’t anyone else around like that.”
Te-Biasu came to Picton’s attention when his team played against a team she was on in a tournament in Montreal.
It took awhile before the talented guard knew she was in the right place as a person and as a basketball player.
“I realized it at the end of last season,” said the thee-year member of Canada’s national program. “We didn’t finish well but we stuck together on the court and after the season in school, we were all together.
“That’s why I love it.”
Being away from her family wasn’t easy but it is something she has gotten used to doing.
“I get to go home for Christmas and March Break,” she said.
Te-Biasu feels she has become a better basketball player in her time at Niagara.
“I am more of a leader on the court and I am able to direct my teammates better,” she said. “Also my shooting. I’m taking a lot of shots in practice and I am comfortable now.”
Picton feels she’s really learning how to play the point guard position.
“Her ability to score has always been there, but now it’s the decision making, the reads and that’s why she came here,” he said. “She wanted me to help her work on that because of my background as a point guard.”
Te-Biasu would like to become an even better passer.
“Sometimes I just attack and my teammates are open,” she said.
Picton loves everything about his star player.
“She has got it all,” he said. “She is now the full package as a point guard.”
Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Tech and Boston College are all interested in landing the full package on their rosters for next season.
“I don’t know when I am going to decide. It is hard,” she said. “I am looking for a family environment and I want to have a good relationship with my coaches.
“I want to reach my goals and be in the right place to reach them.”
She admits her post-secondary destination is always on her mind.
“I just want it to be the right place for me.”
Picton understands why Te-Biasu isn’t rushing to judgement.
“It’s got to be a fit and the right fit,” he said. “I want her to go where she can have an immediate impact and not have to sit for a year or whatever the situation is.
“She’s that good of a player and I ‘m confident she will end up in the right spot where you will see a lot of great things from her.”
STATS PACK
Niagara Prep 86 Southwest Academy 49
Johnny Rocco’s/Mick and Angelo’s/Cracker Jacks Player of the Game: Niagara’s Sarah Te-Biasu with a game-high 26 points.
For Niagara Prep: Te-Biasu 26; Madalyn Picton 15; Donna Ntambue 10; Alexis Wright 7; Serah Williams 6; Chantelle Blagrove 6; Janee Harrison 5; Emma Koabel 5; Julia Colavecchia 3; Sarah Harvey 3;
For Southwest Academy: Lemyah Hylton 12; A. Stewart 10
Up next: Niagara Prep is at Lincoln Prep next Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Hillfield Strathallan College.
