Driving the ball down the court, freshman Daniella Williams scans the court, searching for an open teammate. Williams handles the ball confidently, skillfully shielding the ball from her defender.

Finally, Williams fires the ball into freshman Danica Williams, her twin sister, who found space on the wing. In one motion, Danica catches the ball and smoothly rises into her shooting motion. With complete faith in her twin’s ability, Daniella begins the jog back to defense before the ball has even hit the bottom of the net. She knows that Danica has drilled the shot.

“What I enjoy most is being able to play with Danica,” Daniella said. “It’s like a different level of connection between us and it’s really easy to play with each other.”

Danica and Daniella are one of three underclassmen, and the only two freshmen on varsity. The twins take after their older brother, Darius Williams, a senior point guard, who has been played for the varsity ‘Dawgs since his sophomore year.

“Since our older brother played basketball since he was little and we used to always go to his games, I was inspired to be like him,” Danica said. “So, I started playing. We started off playing in elementary school and in i9 Sports.”

Even though Danica and Daniella are twins, they have opposite strengths and positions on the court. Their bond still always attributes to the benefit of one another.

“I play as a three most of the time,” Danica said. “And Daniella usually is the one handling the ball and bringing it up the court on offense. She is very good at driving to the basket with her left hand.”

Because of their complimentary talent, the twins have helped the Lady ‘Dawgs solidify their spot in the playoffs. Sophomore teammate Grace Guzman points out the immediate impact Daniella and Danica have made.

“They both are always playing at super high intensity and never seem to get tired,” Guzman said. “They keep the team in good spirits even when we aren’t winning or in the best of moods.”

The Lady ‘Dawgs concluded their season in second place in district play with a 14-2 record. This success, according to Danica, stems from the work ethic expected of varsity players.

“It is definitely very hard and tiring,” Danica said. “There is a lot of running involved. We have practice every first period and sometimes in the morning and afternoon. It can be a lot to balance outside activities because we seem to always be at basketball.”

Along with high school basketball, Danica and Daniella both compete on teams in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) division outside of school. They also train with private coaches when they can to get better.

“We have AAU, which is extra training, when we don’t have high school,” Danica said. “It is usually every day, but right now during high school season we only practice during the weekends. We also go to the gym to workout after school.”

Even with the strenuous work needed to be a part of the team, Danica and Daniella believe it is beneficial they play together. They believe it helps them understand the runs of play to help them win.

“It is always great to play with each other because we have a relationship no one else has,” Daniella said. “I’ve only ever played two games without Danica, so it will be very weird if we end up going to completely different colleges in a few years.”

Playing Division 1 is the pinnacle of collegiate athletics. Danica and Daniella both have aspirations to reach this level.

“I would love to play college basketball just because of how much I love this sport,” Danica said. “I don’t really mind what division I play in but I would always prefer to play Division 1.”

Despite only being a freshman, Danica and Daniella have both gained varsity experience needed to compete at the next level. However, they’re only one year removed from middle school and have seen first-hand the difference in levels of play.

“High school basketball is totally different from middle school basketball,” Daniella said. “We do a lot of harder things and we pay a lot more attention to actually playing rather than learning the basics.”

As a freshman, Daniella believes there is more pressure to perform and meet expectations. This being said, the Lady ‘Dawgs house a positive environment needed to effectively integrate underclassmen.

“My teammates cheering me on that calms me down when I get nervous,” Daniella said. “They just tell me it’s okay if I mess up and that I’ll get it next time. This helps me not dwell on it for too long.”

Along with stress from being on the court, it can also be very hard to balance being a dedicated athlete and a hardworking student. Danice and Daniella are both responsible for maintaining passing grades to be eligible to play, which creates a heavy workload for the twins.

“It is hard trying to find time to study because of our basketball schedule,” Danica said. “I usually have to do my homework either really late at night or find time during the school day to complete it.”

In preparation for their first round playoff game against Vandergrift, the twins attribute the seasonal success of the Lady’ Dawgs to team chemistry.

“It is super fun that we get to play with people we know and that we’re close with,” Daniella said. “We all get along super well and the team chemistry really helps us win our games. I will miss them when they leave for college before us.”

This story was originally published on The Dispatch on March 7, 2024.