As you listen to them talk you might think these two girls are twins. But in reality they’ve just been playing basketball together for ever and have a lot of the same goals. Meet Don’Nai Akins and Zion Bills, both seniors for the Lady Buffaloes. Both got started playing basketball along with fellow senior Ashia Jordan when they were about three. Both had male role models that played the game ahead of them. And both are looking at similar choices after high school.
“I’ve had Don’Nai for all four years in high school and I call her the quiet assassin,” laughed Hugo assistant girls coach Kiyoko Wood. “She’s very soft spoken but she’s lethal from the three-point area and is everything you could ask for in a player. In addition to school and basketball and running track, she also has a job and is a great leader by example for our team. Zion is a little ball of dynamite and I call her little saucy. She’s very coachable and takes care of business and plays great defense. She’s a very vocal leader with the emphasis on vocal,” chuckled Wood.
For Don’Nai her role model is a close friend. “I have a brother that played basketball but my boyfriend Trevon Brown who graduated last year is someone I looked up to. I just think he was a great player,” said Akins. For Zion that role model is closer to home. “My brother William King was my role model that I grew up watching play.”
For Zion (she’s the vocal one) leadership is about being able to get people to follow your lead.
“I think leadership is about making sure everyone is on the same page and doing what they’re supposed to do,” said Bills who says she’ll probably also run track this spring.
After a rough start to the season, the Lady Buffaloes are hoping they’ve got things going on the right track as they recently won the Antlers Tournament. Both girls say they want to go into nursing after they are done at Hugo High but Don’Nai adds one caveat. “If the opportunity to play at the next level came along, I’d take it, but my priority will always be to get into nursing.”
