Everyone wants a piece of Peace

When senior Latasha Peace tried out for the girls' JV basketball team in her freshman year, she had only played organized basketball once, just a few months earlier. When a friend convinced her to tag along and try out for fun, Peace had no idea that merely a year later she would be the starting small forward for the varsity squad and later a co-captain.

Girls' basketball coach William Lindsey says he looks for Peace to lead the girls by example on the court and to motivate them off the court as a captain and role model.

She's got game

Peace averaged five points per game last season, but after her hard work in the off-season she now has more confidence in her shooting abilities.

Lindsey expects her to start averaging double digits this year. "Knowing she's comfortable with shooting has made me feel really good," Lindsey says. "It'll go a long way."

Lindsey recalls that over the summer, when the girls played in a Prince George's County summer league, Peace's shooting practice began to pay off. "She just started hitting jumpshots," he remembers.

In the first game of the season against Magruder High School on Dec 6, Peace's .newfound shooting touch was on display.

With the Blazers down by double digits, Peace broke free of the Colonel defense and found herself open on the baseline, where she drained the three-pointer with 4:30 left in the fourth quarter. The Blazers lost to Magruder 39-27 despite an increase in intensity sparked by Peace's three-point shot.

Peace is a swingman, which means she rotates between her role as shooting guard and small forward. She is expected to have the necessary ball-handling skills to relieve pressure on a point guard, but as a small forward she must also have the strength to compete with post players in zone-defense situations. "She's not as big as a four or a five, but she has to have those responsibilities," Lindsey says.

She also has the responsibility of the ball, which is a difficult task, according to Lindsey. However, he says Peace has been increasingly successful under pressure situations that arise while inbounding the ball.

The respect Peace has from her teammates is earned not just through shooting statistics or rebounding averages. Sophomore Emily Ramsay explains that she admires Peace's hustle and determination. "If she has a bad game, she doesn't let it rub off on the rest of the team. She supports the team," says Ramsay, a center.

Senior Ashley Moorefield, Peace's co-captain and the team's only other returning senior, has worked closely with Peace over the past three years. She explains that the encouragement Peace gives the girls when they are playing poorly is what makes her a great leader. "She'll tell you, ‘We need you.' She peps us up and motivates us," says Moorefield.
Peace is aware that she is a role model for many of her teammates, and the responsibility of that position motivates her to work her hardest. "I'm captain, and I feel like I have to own up to my team and be a leader. If not, I'm not doing my job," she says.

Above and beyond

Even as the captain of her team, Peace says her schoolwork is her first priority. "Academics is my primary concern. It's always been my primary concern," she states. Peace, who takes a medical careers course at the Thomas Edison High School of Technology, boasted a 4.0 GPA in the first quarter marking period this year.

In addition to being a star basketball player and an excellent student, Peace competes in the 200-meter dash, the long jump and the triple jump on the spring track team. Last year was her first year on the team, but she placed third at the county meet and sixth at Regionals in the triple jump.

Lindsey credits Peace's growing confidence in jumping and rebounding to her participation on the track team.

Spring track coach Hugo Harrison describes Peace as a "disciplined" and "committed" member of the team. He says her dedication enabled her to improve the length of her jump by several feet last season. "She wants to learn and also wants to get better, and that defines a true athlete," Harrison says.