Abington junior Deja Rawls surpassed the 1,000-point mark in her team’s district playoff game at West Chester Rustin on Feb. 22.
By Mary Jane Souder
Dan Marsh caught his first glimpse of Deja Rawls on the basketball court when she was in third grade. He knew immediately the Abington junior was something special.
“She came to our basketball camps, and as a third grader, she played up with the seventh and eighth graders, and she was just fine,” the Abington coach said. “She just could handle the ball, she could penetrate, and she was just full of energy.
“We couldn’t put her with the same age kids because it just wasn’t fair. It wasn’t like we had a high level camp. It was a high school girls’ basketball camp, but she was in there tearing up the seventh and eighth graders – kids twice her size. She was great.”
Rawls has excelled since she set foot on the court for the Ghosts three years ago, and on Feb. 22, in Abington’s district quarterfinal loss to West Chester Rustin, the junior point guard surpassed the 1,000-point mark.
She needed six points entering the game. Rawls finished with 20. She is the 11th Abington female to reach that historic milestone.
“It meant a lot,” said Rawls. “That was my goal at the beginning of the year.”
Rawls, who has been playing basketball since she was five, came by her love of the sport honestly. Her father, Damon Rawls, played for perennial state and district power Chester High School.
“I’ve always been in the gym watching the Chester High Clippers play,” she said. “I’ve been around it all my life. It was just natural.”
After playing in a rec league, Rawls joined the AAU club circuit and competes with Philly Triple Threat.
“What’s really gotten so much better with Deja is her ability to be a leader and her ability to make her teammates better,” Marsh said. “She’s a very consistent scorer. She gets 15 points a game every time she goes out there. It always happens.
“Sometimes it happens with seven assists and sometimes it doesn’t, but she’s always consistent. The thing I like most about Deja is she’s just a leader.”
Marsh recalled the Ghosts’ huge upset of second-seeded Garnet Valley in the second round of districts.
“I called a timeout,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “Sammy Lochner is about to go for two free throws, and Deja steps right up to her and said, ‘Make these two free throws – game over, we go to states.’
“Sammy went up there and knocked them down. She’s just become a vocal leader, and she wants everyone to be better. That’s what I love about Deja. She’s a competitor, and she wants to win.”
Rawls is on the wish list of more than a few college coaches.
“I’ve narrowed it down to a couple of schools,” she said. “Right now is a busy schedule, so after the season, I’ll go visit more colleges.”
Rawls has a little unfinished business to take care of at Abington first.
“I’m looking forward to next year to breaking the (career scoring) record at Abington,” she said. “I don’t know what the record is right now for points, but a lot of people say I have a chance to break it.”
Stay tuned.
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