Elauna Eaton
SENIOR / NETTLETON HIGH SCHOOL
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR, OUTSTANDING PLAYER: GIRLS BASKETBALL .....
>> WHY SHE WON
Basketball is more than a game for Nettleton High School senior Elauna Eaton. For her, the sport is about reaching for her dreams.
“I feel [basketball] teaches you life lessons [for] off the court, and it teaches you patience and discipline,” she said. “I love everything about it.”
Eaton’s passion for the sport is evident in her performance this season. She led the Lady Raiders to their first appearance in the Class 5A state-title game, along with putting up tremendous stats all season. For her dominance on the court and her outstanding attitude, Eaton has been named the 2019-2020 All-Arkansas Preps Female Athlete of the Year and the Outstanding Player of the Year for Girls Basketball.
“I’m really grateful and appreciative of [this award],” she said. “I’m just blessed.”
Eaton, a 6-1 guard, put up impressive numbers on the court all season. She averaged 23.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. She shot 41 percent from behind the 3-point line and had 10 double-doubles this season. Eaton, ESPN’s No. 38-ranked high school girls player, also led Nettleton to a 27-5 record this season and the 5A-East Conference title. ESPN also ranks Eaton as the ninthbest guard in her class.
“She’s the most skilled basketball player that I’ve ever had the privilege to coach,” said Jason Smith, Nettleton High School girls basketball coach. “She’s the most driven and self-motivated basketball player that I’ve ever been around.”
Eaton, who believes her shooting is her biggest strength, said she was really proud of the team’s performance this season because it was supposed to be a down year for them. She said the team overcame a lot to get to the state finals, including a really bad loss to Batesville High School at the beginning of the season.
“No one expected us to get as far as we did,” she said. “We went into practice every day, worked hard at it, pushed one another and got better.”
Eaton said that motivating each other has been the biggest improvement the players made as a team. If someone was having an off day, the rest of the team pushed through to raise the energy level.
Last season, Smith said, the team had a lot of seniors, so Eaton had to take a step back, but for the 2019-2020 season, Smith said that from the first summer camp to the last practice, she was a vocal leader and an encourager.
“It didn’t matter if it was a fellow starter or the 16th girl on the bench; she’s encouraging them by calling them by name during practice,” Smith said. “I think she rubbed off on some others who might not be quite as vocal because