Saquaya Lane, when given the opportunity, will fight for a chance to get a rebound or a bucket.

The Opp sophomore tallied 20 points in the Lady Bobcats’ 62-42 win over Cottage Hill last week in the Class 3A South Sub Regional, and garnered 11 points in the area championship game against Straughn.

Lane’s scoring and effort on the floor earned her The Star-News Player of the Week honors.

OHS coach SaRhonda Dickerson said having Lane on the team is a big benefit.

“She’s a huge asset,” Dickerson said. ” I thank God for having her. She’s a beast.

“With somebody who has that athletic ability and the basketball IQ (Lane) has, it’s a blessing for your team,” she said. “She’s a pheomenal girl. She even shows leadership as a 10th grader.”

On the floor, Lane said she doesn’t really know how she manages to put the ball in the hole or grab a rebound.

“When I score, I don’t know what I did to score, but I scored,” Lane said. “It’s weird. If I make a move, I don’t konw what I did to get it up there.”

Lane is averaging 12 points per game and grabbing 14 rebounds per game this season.

Dickerson said Lane will make sure she gives the team all she has to get two points or more.

“Saquaya is a type of player where if you need two points, she’ll give it to you,” Dickerson said. “It’s her strength that gets her through. She has a heart of a lion. When you have that strength and that heart, she’s unstoppable.”

Saquaya started playing basketball at nine years old with her father, Jason Stoudemire.

Lane moved back and forth from Opp to Columbus, Ga., during her fifth, seventh and eighth grade years.

Now being back in Opp, Lane said she’s taken what she learned in Georgia and applied it to the court today.

“I did stuff I hadn’t done before, like weird passes,” she said. “They taught me how to dribble and shoot. My shot got better.”

Lane said she comes from a long line of basketball players in her family.

Other than her father, her aunt, Suzanne Lane, along with her brother and cousins dished it out on the hardwood.

This season, Lane said she made the decision to be more of a leader on the court, instead of a follower.

“Even though I’m not a captain now, I work hard to be a captain,” she said. “I try to keep our heads up.”

Saquaya is the daughter of Tousha Lane and Jason Stoudemire of Opp.