Belton Lady Pirates Girls Basketball star Courtnie Lewis hasn't received much in the way of attention and accolades. Some may say that's alright with Courtnie.
"Courtnie is, as little as she likes to talk about herself, and you wouldn't know that she was a top-five player in Kansas City," Lady Pirates Head Coach Brad Batchelder said. "She probably won't even talk about being Hy-Vee Player of the Week. Last week, seven games into her junior year, she scored her thousandth point. She doesn't talk about any of that stuff. But, as a coach, someone who knows her off the floor, it's easy to talk about a kid like that."
But, ever since the 5-foot-9 junior was named by the Kansas City Star earlier this year as one of the top five players to watch in Kansas City, and a 2014-2015 All-Metro Girls Basketball Team Honorable Mention, she has gotten more attention. She says the success is not her own.
"I gotta give it to my dad and my brothers for working me when I didn't want to," Courtnie said. "I gotta give it to my school team, and my AAU team, for all the days we got in the gym and pushing me."
Courtnie burst onto the basketball scene her very first year of competition. She averaged 16.1 points per game and 9 rebounds per contest during her freshman year. She followed that with a 20.3 point per game and 9.5 rebound average in her sophomore year. This year, she's averaging around 20 points per game.
"[Coach Batchelder has] really helped me in my mental area, to where I have to stay focused on the court and keep composure because the way I act on the court affects my other teammates," Lewis said.
She also is ready to help her fellow teammates whenever they call on her.
"During practices sometimes, like our open gyms on Saturdays and Sundays, she gets me to do ball handling with her because that's what I need to work on, and we put up a whole bunch of shots from the gun," junior forward Sydney Bandy said.
Her all-around talent has gotten her increased collegiate offers from various Division I schools like Missouri, Oral Roberts and Missouri State. Kentucky has even shown interest in her.
"Kentucky is a good school. So, I was really surprised. Was really proud of myself," Courtnie said. "The one pushing really hard is Missouri State. So, yeah I appreciate them. They're really looking at me."
NOTE: The Hy-Vee 41 5-Star Athlete of the Week piece airs every Thursday night during the 41 Action Sports segment at 10 p.m. for the entire school year.
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