G-Prep’s Jennings fires up for hoops

You’d never call Gonzaga Prep senior Sarah Jennings mild-mannered – “I’m pretty loud off the court, and not real serious” – but once she steps onto the basketball court, you probably wouldn’t recognize the girl you see around campus.

“It’s true that I sort of turn on the switch when the game starts,” she said recently. “I’m very intense on the court, but I don’t want people to think that’s how I always am.

“I’m really just a regular kid.”

Except between the lines, and that’s just fine with Gonzaga coach Mike Arte, who says that Jennings is as tough and competitive a player as he’s ever coached, with a fire he says coaches don’t often see.

“Her eyes just kind of glaze over when we’re playing for real,” Arte said. “Sarah’s got such a competitive nature, and she’s got a willingness to work hard and do what it takes to achieve success.”

The Bullpups have found plenty of that so far this winter, entering Tuesday’s final regular-season contest tied for first with University and Lewis and Clark, all with 11-1 Greater Spokane League records. G-Prep was 17-2 overall.

“We’re probably not as talented as some of the other top teams in the league,” Arte said, “but I have a bunch of tough kids.”

Arte’s not the sort of coach to rush a newcomer into varsity action, but Jennings had to grow up in a hurry when, in the second game of her sophomore year, leading scorer Shannon Murray went down with a torn ACL and Jennings became her replacement.

“We knew she would be a good player,” said Arte, “but I thought her role would be as a backup to Shannon. Even when she was on the freshman team, you could see her intensity, what a hard-nosed player she was.

“She really likes to mix it up and brings that to every game.”

Jennings remembers her debut very well.

“As a sophomore, I went in thinking that I’d be first or second off the bench. But I remember watching Shannon getting carried off the court, and I was so nervous. I got off to a good start, though, and gained a lot of confidence.”

The biggest adjustment, she recalls, was to the size and speed of varsity-level players. She discovered quickly that, especially defensively, she would have to become more aggressive to enjoy the same level of success she had previously.

“Sarah’s always had the attitude that she could do anything she wanted to offensively,” said Arte. “She can shoot, drive and pass the ball.

“Defensively is where she’s really improved.”

Jennings is hoping that the improvement she and her teammates have made will carry the Bullpups to a state tournament, especially since this will be her last season of organized basketball, a decision she made earlier this fall.

“It was a hard decision not to continue to play,” she said. “I’d been getting some letters from smaller schools who were interested in me. But as much as I’ve loved being at All Saints and Gonzaga, I feel like it’s time for me to go big and experience something else.”

That decision, as hard as it was for her, helped her focus on this season, and has intensified her will to win.

“I can’t look at it like I’ve always got college basketball to look forward to. I want to win now, and with our drive, I think we can. We want to win so badly, our passion is contagious.

“We’ve played a lot of close games, and I think that our will to win makes a difference in those.”

That’s the player that Arte loves to talk about, but he wants others to recognize the “other” Jennings, too – the laidback, funny, academically successful counterpart to the Sarah they see on the basketball court.

“No matter what happens on the court,” Jennings said, “I leave it there.”