13 seconds left, one play, and one mission, to score. Micah Walton never thought she’d be in this moment. With only one defender standing in her way, Walton dribbles the ball past, weaving her way through the defenders and finding an open space to score. 

Walton closed her eyes hoping for the impossible. After what felt like an eternity, Walton opened her eyes to an uproar of screams from the crowd and to her teammates stampeding towards her to congratulate her.

According to Walton, this was a crucial memory she has made playing for the girls varsity basketball team at Bowie. After picking up a basketball for the first time, Walton immediately fell in love with the sport. 

“I started playing when I was eight, and started taking it seriously in the eighth grade,” Walton said. “My cousin played a lot and we’d always play in the front yard. I just like how fast paced it is, it’s never boring, everybody’s always moving.”

After making the varsity team as a sophomore, Walton competed for the starting lineup as the point guard, practicing every day with her coaches and teammates.

“What my best friend on the team Berit and I do is we come early to get a shooting workout in before practice,” Walton said. “It’s just nice to get some extra shots up before practice and game days.”

Head basketball coach Iesha Collins has been with Walton since her first appearance on varsity. According to Walton, Collins always expects the best from her and constantly pushes her to be a leader on the court for her teammates.

“Micah has a lot of confidence on the offensive end, and it takes the pressure off of her teammates,” Collins said. “Micah went from playing minimal minutes to substantial playing time this year and I’m really proud of her for putting in the hard work to get that point.”

During her sophomore season, Walton was the only 10th grader on varsity. This jump challenged Walton, however with the help of her coaches and teammates she continued to keep improving.

“In my sophomore season I started off strong and then fell into a slump,” Walton said. “I got into my head mentally because I had some big shoes to fill. I went from playing on the freshman team, to varsity, which is a huge jump.

Junior Berit Rusing has been with Walton since the beginning of her basketball journey. Being on the varsity team, Rusing and Walton not only practice together, but they are constantly pushing and cheering one another on.

“Playing with Micah is very motivating,” Rusing said. “She has an insane work ethic and playing with that inspires me and others to work harder to play better. We spend so much time together and the only reason we are so close is because of basketball.”

At the start of her junior year, Walton immediately shined on the court, averaging 17 points per game with many assists. On the defensive side of the ball, Walton locks up defenders averaging three steals in her last five games.

“Coach Collins expects a lot from me and she actually instills the confidence in me that I can’t find myself which is great,” Walton said. “She’s a big reason I’m where I am today and I love her for that.”

Additional Interviews done by Michael Vienneau