Knowing the background of The Overlake School senior Jessica Elliott, it’s a no-brainer as to why she began her love affair with the game of basketball at a young age.

“My dad grew up in Indiana and graduated from Indiana University, so he was really into basketball,” Elliott recalled. “He started me when I was really young, and I’ve been playing club teams since I was in third grade.”

Last winter, Elliott tore up the Emerald City League, averaging 13.5 points per game (third in league) and was named to the all-league first team, while leading the Owls to a 9-5 league record.

Like all true athletes, however, Elliott was far from one-dimensional during the 2009-10 school year.

In a day where three-sport athletes are becoming exceedingly rare, she also shined on the volleyball court last fall as an outside hitter, and advanced to the Class 1A state golf tournament for the third consecutive year.

For her positive contributions to The Overlake School’s athletic program and her outstanding performance during her senior campaign, Elliott has been named the Redmond Reporter’s Female Athlete of the Year.

SPIKING HER WAY TO VICTORY

Elliott began playing volleyball while in the eighth grade, her first year at Overlake. Originally picking up the sport as a way to simply meet people and make new friends, she ended up getting hooked as she entered her high school years, earning a spot on the varsity team as a sophomore.

“In a lot of cases you have to first teach kids how to be athletes and then start teaching them the game,” explained third-year head coach Luke Trier. “But Elliott had that athletic drive and intelligence right from the beginning. She was exceptional… and the consummate team player. She genuinely was happy when the team did well, and also when her teammates personally did well.”

Leading the Owls to a solid 11-7 season and a playoff appearance, Elliott may not have been the tallest girl on the court at 5-foot-10, but she more than made up for it with her work ethic, even playing volleyball on a club team for the first time during the offseason to keep her game sharp.

“She worked incredibly hard during the summer,” Trier noted. “That really pays dividends. It’s immediately noticeable when they come into school the next year–they have that much more confidence and athletic ability.”

Every game, Elliott could be counted on for a number of service aces and timely kills, including a season-high 11 during the Owls’ heartbreaking 3-2 loss to rival Bellevue Christian that prematurely ended the Owls’ season.

But according to Elliott, the lasting memories will be with the girls she came up with through the program.

“I’ve been playing with them for five years now,” Elliott said. “It’s been a really long ride, but I had a great coach and assistant coach this year as well. I just loved the team atmosphere that we had.”

Click here to read an exclusive Q & A with Overlake School senior Jessica Elliott:

FAST BREAKS

Coming with the territory when one has a Hoosier father, Elliott knew the bar was set high for her prep basketball career, and she responded with flying colors in her stellar senior basketball season.

According to Elliott, tantamount to her on-court success this year was her relationship with point guard and fellow senior Maya Marder, a fearsome one-two punch that Elliott said “melded really well” during their final season on the hardwood.

“Most of my points were off assists from her, because I run well and she can throw it up the court really well,” Elliot explained. “That is what really improved my game this year.”

Perhaps even more important than just her outstanding physical ability, however, according to head coach Sara Wilcox, was Elliott’s leadership and compassion for her teammates.

“She was reliable, I could count on her to help lead by the team by her actions,” Wilcox said of Elliott. “She was part of the dual backbone of this team, and the girls knew that when she was helping lead the floor, things were going to be okay.”

In addition, the ultra-competitive Elliott got quite a reputation for being the motivational speaker in the locker room.

“There were things that she said in the locker room that, in the moment, could get anyone choked up,” Wilcox said. “She really cared about her team, and wanted to fight for them in battle.”

One of the more diminutive posts in the Emerald City league, Elliott also acknowledged that Wilcox was instrumental in helping her learn the tools she needed to succeed against girls taller than her down low.

“She was great at helping me (learn) post moves, because she was a post as well,” Elliott said. “I was one of the smaller posts out there, so she really helped me get moves and be strong.”

Elliott, who was recently accepted to the University of North Carolina, has decided to not try to walk on to the Tar Heels’ standout basketball program, and instead focus on her studies and stick with intramural hoops.

“That school is by my family. I have a cousin down there with two little kids and I’m excited to watch them grow up and play sports,” she said, adding that she is simply ‘burned out’ from basketball. “I’ll play club sports for sure, just not any varsity sports.”

SWINGING AWAY AT STATE

Much like the Reporter’s Male Athlete of the Year Jamie Meyer and his sudden proficiency at tennis, Elliott had hardly picked up a golf club before she started playing in her sophomore year.

That year, she just so happened to make the 1A state golf tournament, and helped the team to the team state championship, drawing the admiration of head coach Shawn Farmer.

“Jessica is a phenomenal athlete to coach,” she said. “She joined the golf team with very little experience, but was able to improve quickly because of her work ethic and natural athleticism.”

Proving that it wasn’t all beginner’s luck on the greens, Elliott went on to make state in all three years she was in the program, including an unlikely run this year after falling ill at Tri-Districts.

According to Farmer, Elliott was suffering from flu-like symptoms but fought through it, including a late rally on the back nine at Eagle Pride Golf Course at Fort Lewis, her lowest nine-hole score ever, that secured her state berth.

With all of her other commitments academically and with other sports, Elliott herself was surprised that she was able to nail down a state spot every year.

“It was bittersweet… it was also a sense of accomplishment, because I don’t spend a lot of time out of season playing golf, since I’m working so much on my the other sports,” Elliott said on making state for the final time this May. “Just making it was really nice, because I had a really rough beginning to the season due to a few back problems. Being there with one of my best friends, Aubrey DeVine, that made it a lot more fun. And I had a great coach.”

Elliott, who is planning to study business at UNC, left quite a mark on the Owls’ athletic program – a legacy of hard work, class, and leadership that all future Owls can inspire to achieve.