Wichita East Blue Aces girl’s basketball was off to a rocky start in 2021, losing their first three games, but they have recently gotten the ship back on the course, winning four out of their last six games. A big part of their success has been senior leader Tiana Winn.
Winn is a 6-foot athletic scoring forward who averages 18.0 points per game for the Blue Aces while shooting over 65% from the field. Winn is committed to playing basketball next season at Seward Community College, where she will pursue a degree in psychology.
“We just approached this season differently; we have a lot of senior leadership and really wanted to play more like a team,” said Winn. “As one of the captains, I want to make sure everybody stays focused and that we’re taking practice seriously because that reflects how we play in games.”
“Although our team had a slow start, Tiana continued to be positive by encouraging her teammates to stay in the fight,” said Brian Johnson, Tiana’s head coach. “Tiana comes from a solid foundation and has become a solid student-athlete for others to emulate.”
Although a cheerleader for most of her childhood, Winn switched to basketball in the 7th grade after pleading with her father, a former player himself, to participate in a more athletic and competitive sport.
After spending several summers training at the YMCA and with the Spradling Skills Academy travel team, Winn has developed into one of Wichita’s premier girl’s basketball players. She has the dribbling ability of guard with a sniper mid-range game and can guard all five positions.
Winn has played a pivotal role in advancing the Aces girls basketball program during her four years as a varsity player but wants to send her fellow seniors off with a sub-state title.
“I want all the seniors, whether they’re playing basketball at the next level or not, to have fun and be role models; we want to leave the underclassmen with something to build on,” said Winn.
Winn takes her education seriously, maintaining a 3.8 GPA, and has maintained honor roll status throughout her time at East High. She’s enrolled in their AVID College-Prep Program and, while she loves the game, she also understands that she needs to plan for a future beyond basketball. “I have aspirations of playing professionally, but I understand that may not happen, so with my degree, I want to open my own mental health clinic for African-Americans,” said Winn.
Winn credits the solid academic program as her reason for attending Seward, despite receiving basketball scholarships from several other Kansas and Missouri programs. Tiana enjoys working concessions for YMCA basketball games on the weekend and spending time with her little brother.
Winn and the Eash High Blue Aces Mavericks’ next game will be at home on Tue., Jan 25, against Southeast High School. Time TBA