When a team wins five straight state championships and finishes the season on a 68-game winning streak, you need to have outstanding leadership to help lead the way. Saniah Tyler has been a part of three of those state title runs for Incarnate Word and has grown to be a leader from her point guard position.
Tyler finished the year second on the Red Knights team in scoring by averaging just over 12 points per game while leading the team with 49 three-point goals. She also averaged three assists per contest and had two steals a game. Tyler was recently named to the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Class 6 All-State team and was nominated for the MBCA’s highest honor, Miss Show-Me basketball.
Tyler has been a mainstay in the Red Knights lineup the past three seasons but used her freshman year to learn and grow in the program.
“Going into my freshman year, I had to sit on the bench for a bit and learn from the six seniors that we had on the team,” stated Tyler. “I had to watch point guard Marissa Warren to learn the IQ, learn the plays, and learn how to make the right decisions. Learning from her during my sophomore through senior years, I just remembered how she was during my freshman year and took some of her IQ and knowing where everyone was supposed to be, and that knowledge helped me lead my team to win 68 straight games.”
Being a leader in a program that has so much tradition and has had many outstanding players graduate and move on to the next level is a big responsibility, but it is something that Tyler has taken by leading her team by example and showing how things should be done on the court and in the locker room.
“I am a lead by example type of leader,” said Tyler. “I am not that kind of vocal leader, and it is weird because I am the point guard, so I need to be able to talk. I am the quiet leader that will do the little things and watch how everybody catches on. I am still trying to learn to be that vocal leader, but Coach Dan Rolfes has helped me get into the vocal leader as a point guard by talking to my teammates and telling them where they should be.”
Tyler not only is a leader on the court but also in the classroom as she knows that to be successful, you need to have a balance of both basketball and academics to be successful.
“IWA has a good system in place, and I have open labs during the day so I can get all of my work done during those periods,” stated Tyler. “So, when I go home, I can get to the gym and get shots up. During the season, I used those open labs to get my work done so that I would not fall behind. With practices ending some nights at 7:30 p.m., I could go home, eat dinner, study, and go to sleep so that I could do it again the next day. Incarnate Word showed me how to prepare for college with the way that the schedule is set up.”
You do not see many point guards shoot the three-point shot as well as Tyler does. She is averaging 1.81 made triples per game and this takes a lot of practice.
“In practice, Coach Rolfes has us doing drills, but I also have to take time on my own to get better and comfortable in shooting those shots,” stated Tyler. “During practice, we would have to shoot 10 15-foot shots around the perimeter and then step back and shoot five threes around the arc. That has helped me gain confidence and by taking time on my own to get more shots up.”
The one thing about watching this Incarnate Word team this year is how much fun they have out on the court. With only three seniors on the squad and a bunch of underclassmen logging a bunch of minutes, Tyler knew that they needed to bring their talents together to have fun and win games.
“It was amazing because everyone has talent on this team,” said Tyler. “It is good to see different players pick up things in different games. Someone could be on fire in one game, and it was good to see how our talents could be shown on the team. It was super fun playing with this group this year.”
Tyler will be taking her talents to the next level next season as she has committed to play for Kentucky, who just won the Southeastern Conference post-season tournament. This was a decision that was very easy for her.
“Kentucky has been following my basketball career since I was in seventh grade,” stated Tyler. “I have known them for a long time, and they have been loyal to me, and I have gained a good rapport with the coaching staff, so I felt that this was going to be a good spot for me over the next four years.”
Congratulations to Saniah Tyler on an outstanding career at Incarnate Word and for earning our HSSC/Scoops with Danny Mac Student-Athlete of the Week honor.
Jim Powers has been covering prep sports in the St. Louis area for 15+ years and a part of the Missouri State High School Activities Association Championship Broadcasts for the past 11 years. Powers is also a part of the Fox 2 Verlo Mattress Prep Zone Friday nights at 10:10 during the football and basketball seasons. If you have a prep sports story, please contact Jim at japowers2421@yahoo.com. Follow Jim at @hssportscaravan
