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Bishop O'Hara Girls Basketball junior guard Tiana Gipson earns Athlete of the Week honors

Posted at 6:56 PM, Mar 01, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-02 23:56:13-05

When some opponents get a first look at Bishop O'Hara Girls Basketball junior point guard Tiana Gipson, some may think she's small and therefore not formidable.

Be careful what you wish for. Gipson is small yet mighty on the floor.

Her tenacious play on offense and defense has made her one of the top players in the area, returning for the Class of 2018. Gipson averaged just over 18 points per game this past season for the Celtics. She continued her strong play down to her final game this season - Bishop O'Hara's final Girls Basketball game.

She scored 26 points in a 49-37 Class 3 District 14 Semifinals victory over Barstow. She followed that up with a 22-point performance albeit in a losing effort to Southeast 69-56 in the District Championship.

"I feel like I could've done better to help the team out," Gipson said obviously disappointed with ending her season in a losing effort. "But, I think as a team altogether, we played pretty good. And, I think we could've won."

What may be more impressive than her scoring is the way she plays defensively. She averaged just under four steals per game (3.7) and was absolutely devastating to opposing teams and their offensive game plan.

"She's our little spark plug, especially on defense. She will get out there. We try to make her harass the opponent's point guard," O'Hara Girls Basketball Head Coach Mary Haggerty said. "She does it. She's so quick. She can close down a gap so quickly and get out there in the passing lane and provide that punch that we need."

Gipson, along with senior Gabbi Cook, eclipsed the 1,000 career point mark this season. Gipson reached the major milestone in a 60-43 win over Nevada on February 3. She scored 27 points in that game. 

"It was exciting to know that we were gonna hit it and to know that both of us were gonna have [the milestone] as the school is about to shut down. So, it's pretty exciting," Gipson said.

Haggerty may be more impressed with the kind of young lady Gipson is off the court and behind the scenes.

"Tiana is just a great young lady. She's got a demeanor about her that always brings a smile, not only to my face, [but] to her friends around her and her classmates," Haggerty said. "She's one that if someone needs something, she's the first one to notice that they need something. She'll bring a smile to their face [and] try to make them laugh."

NOTE: The Hy-Vee 41 Five-Star Athlete of the Week segment airs every Thursday night during the 10 p.m. sportscast for the entire school year.

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Ryan Marshall can be reached at Ryan.Marshall@KSHB.com.

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