Confident Standish steps into leadership role

About three years ago, Kayla Standish left the confines of a small 2A high school. Now as a senior, at Gonzaga Standish has solidified herself as a big-time player and looks to lead the 2011-12 women's basketball team to another magical season.

Standish attended Ellensburg High School in Ellensburg, Wash. As a junior she averaged 18.6 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. She led her team to four State appearances and was honored as the 2007 2A Tournament Most Valuable Player. Standish also excelled in volleyball and placed in the top four at State each year in both the 100-meter high hurdles and triple jump. 

Head coach Kelly Graves said that he recruited Standish for the evident length and athleticism, but he particularily  liked her immense potential for growth.

"She was kind of a skinny kid who was accelerating at a small school. And sometimes kids like that don't push themselves as hard as they have to because they could dominate in every sport. So, we just saw huge potential in her," Graves said.

Senior Katelan Redmon said Standish has made great strides to reach the elite level of play she has and that started with her increase in confidence.         

"She has gone from being a very shy freshman to a senior leader. She has improved, just her game, she is much more confident, she is able to just go out there and play her game," Redmon said. "She is not worried about, ‘oh I'm I making a mistake?‘ She can just go out there and play hard."

Graves also identified confidence as a major area of growth since Standish put on a Bulldog uniform three years ago. 

"I think No. 1 confidence, she always lacked that a little bit. I think No. 2, her body. She has just transformed her whole body, she is just a lot stronger and you put those two together, she has always had the athletic ability and the skill set."

Standish said that her decision to attend Gonzaga was highly influenced by former Bulldog Claire Raap.

"It was so close to home and then Claire Raap was a teammate of mine on our club team and we had a good relationship and she came on her recruiting trip, then committed and said you should really take a trip over here, you will love it. So I came and it was so welcoming and such a family-oriented team, you felt that you were coming home," Standish said.

Standish appeared in all 68 games for the Bulldogs in her first two seasons at Gonzaga. In her junior season, Standish distinguished herself as one of the top players in the WCC. She scored 20-plus points in 12 games and recorded two 30-plus point performances. Her 56 percent field goal percentage ranked her 13th in the nation and she became one of five players in program history to score 600-plus points in a season. Standish was named All-West Coast Conference and named to the West Coast Conference All-Tournament Team.

"I think versatility, another area she has really improved is her back to the basket, she didn't do that much in high school," Graves said. "She liked to step out, shoot threes, and she still has that ability, but she is good at the block, she can finish right, she can finish left, with the fade, with the power move and that versatility makes her as good player as she is."

In the Bulldogs' 83-46 victory over Corban University, Standish recorded nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 16 minutes of play. 

Standish and Redmon were selected for the USA Pan American Team (2-2) that competed in Guadalajara, Mexico, Oct. 20-Oct. 24. For the tournament, Standish averaged 12.5 minutes, two points, 2.8 rebounds, and one block per contest.

"Potentially those could be teams that I could be playing against next year, so it was good to get the kind of foreign feel," Standish said. "Experiencing the foreign aspect of it all and playing against teams that have completely different styles than a lot of American college teams."

Standish said that some goals for the Bulldogs this season are to go 16-0 in WCC play, win the WCC Tournament and make a run in the NCAA Tournament. Personally, Standish said that she looks to lead and "dominate."

"My goal is to be a leader, to be more of a verbal leader. It is easy to be a leader through action, but it's a lot harder to verbally get people motivated," Standish said. "And being a dominant player, I always feel selfish saying that, but it is kind of what I have to do."

Standish said that her focus right now is on her senior season, but said she hopes to continue playing basketball when this season concludes.  

"After graduation we will see if I can play here and if not to get ready to go overseas. After this season is done, keep playing basketball, stay in shape, so I can be in shape when I go to training camps or go to my next team," Standish said.

Standish is majoring in special education, which was sparked by a friend's friend in kindergarten that had cerebral palsy.

"I don't know what really attracted me to him, because coming from Ellensburg there is not a lot of diversity in that aspect. I was just drawn to him and once I got here I got in the special education classes and was enjoying school, like enjoying something I was learning so that was something new," Standish said.

Standish said that she does not want to teach and is not receiving her teaching certificate, but knows that she would like to work with adults or newborns to three year olds with disabilities.