January follows sister’s example, claims own place
When Kiara January entered the halls of Lewis and Clark High School four years ago, she knew all about the legacy of the Tiger girls basketball program.
“I knew their expectations in watching my sister all the years she was there before,” January said. “I knew right off the bat what they wanted. Because I knew the standards, I knew I needed to step up my game.”
If the name looks familiar in LC basketball circles, it should be. The sister she refers to is former all-state point guard Briann January, who currently stars for Arizona State University.
“We talk every day,” said Kiara January. “The last (regular season) game against Mead I was really nervous because the last game has always been tough competition. I was talking to her, and I was excited but nervous. After the game, she texted me, ‘W?’ as in, did I win, and I called her back up and said, ‘Yes, we won.’ She went, ‘Oh, my gosh, I was so stressed out and so nervous for you.’ I was like, ‘Now you know how I feel when you play basketball.’ “
As you would guess, the sisters are close. It was Briann, or Bri as she’s often called, who gave Kiara her own nickname.
“She only calls me Kiara when she needs my attention or she’s upset. Everyone calls me Kiki, even in class.”
While it might be easy to compare the two point guards, they are quite different.
“From a personality standpoint, she’s fun and loving, but she also knows when to turn on the switch,” coach Jim Redmon said of the 5-foot-8-inch senior. “I realize they’re sisters and some of the characteristics are the same, but Kiki’s always been that fun-loving, let’s have fun, but work hard, whereas Bri was a little more serious. … Kiki’s done very well stepping on the floor and saying ‘It’s my time. My sister had her time, and now it’s my time.’ ”
As one of the three Tiger captains, January helped lead LC to an improbable unbeaten regular season in the Greater Spokane League. It was something many didn’t expect after the two-time defending state champs lost leading scorers Katelan Redmon and Lyndi Seidensticker to graduation.
“It’s been amazing,” said January. “At the beginning of the season, I knew we were missing our ‘go-to’ people. Having people like Sarah Kliewer and Jeneva (Anderson) bust open the gates and dominate in the post area where we needed it, and of course, Brittany (Kennedy) is amazing and Kelsey Baker. I never really realized how many ‘go-to’ people we have on our team and how deep we were until this year. I really hate to say this, but having all those people gone really helped us evolve as a team, and each individual player evolve as a player.”
“You look at last year with all the great point guards and wings we’ve had to play defense, and she has just stepped into that role and we haven’t missed a beat as far as defending,” said Redmon. “We’re holding teams lower in average this year than last year’s team and some of that credit goes to her.”
While a big part of the Tiger defense the last two seasons, January’s offensive game has become a key ingredient for LC.
“I used to be a timid shooter and a timid driver,” January said. “Over the years, I’ve just figured out that my shot is just as guaranteed as their shot, so why not go for it myself?”
January hopes to add a third-straight state title to her career next month in Tacoma.
“Obviously whoever we’re playing is going to be the underdog,” said January. “Because they’re the underdog, it’s going to show they really want it. We just have to remember to take one game by one game. Our passion still has to be there, and we have to play like we know how we can play. Being down there (at state) and just because we’ve been down there before, the surroundings aren’t going to be as overwhelming. We’ll be a lot more comfortable there.”