Love Lei Best leads standout freshman class on deep Tualatin girls basketball roster

The point guard phenom has “a level of maturity that’s unheard of for a freshman”

Tualatin freshman point guard Love Lei Best / Photo by Dan Brood

As the first quarter was winding down in Tuesday’s Three Rivers League girls basketball showdown between Tualatin and West Linn at Tualatin High School, Timberwolves freshman point guard Love Lei Best was driving hard to the basket.

As she put in a layup, she was knocked hard to the floor by a West Linn defender. Best’s Tualatin teammates quickly rushed over to help up the talented freshman.

Best popped up with a smile, sank her free throw — which gave the Timberwolves a 16-6 lead over the Lions — and got ready to play some pressure defense.

In other words, it was just typical Love Lei Best.

“She’s remarkable,” Tualatin head coach Wes Pappas said. “She’s got a level of maturity that’s unheard of for a freshman. She is just a straight baller. She loves basketball. She loves her teammates.”

She also loves winning.

And on Tuesday, she helped the Timberwolves come away with a 55-30 victory over West Linn, putting Tualatin alone atop the Three Rivers League standings at 6-0 at that point (16-1 overall).

“It went really well,” Best said.

Yes, it did. And the super-quick point guard had a lot to do with that, as she scored a game-high 18 points with five rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Love Lei Best / Photo by Dan Brood

Best helped Tualatin get off to a blazing start, scoring 10 points in the first quarter.

She got started by grabbing a defensive rebound, driving up court and then pulling up to sink a 3-pointer, which gave the Timberwolves a 9-0 lead with 4 minutes and 20 seconds left in the first period.

Soon, Best followed with two free throws, a basket on a mid-range jumper and her 3-point play — giving her 10 points in just over 3 minutes and 22 seconds of playing time, and giving the Timberwolves a quick 10-point advantage.

“Having a point guard like her, we were able to break their pressure and get some layups,” Pappas said.

But there’s more to Best than just her ability to score. Not only is she averaging a team-best 14.9 points per game, she is averaging 4.1 assists and 4.2 steals per game.

“She’s an unselfish kid, and she’s always ready to go,” Pappas said. “She’s all business. She’s a lot of fun, but she’s all business. She’s an extremely competitive kid.”

Best is one of three freshmen on the Tualatin varsity roster. Kendall Dawkins, the younger sister of former West Linn football and basketball standout Keishon Dawkins, who played football at Oregon State University and then basketball at Bushnell University, had 10 points and three rebounds in the win over the Lions. The Timberwolves also got strong minutes from freshman guard Bella Amens in the victory.

“It’s been really good,” Best said of her initial season on the Tualatin team. “We’ve got a great freshman class, with me and Kendall and Bella. And our leaders, they’re there to help us every day — I’m so thankful for them. So, yeah, it’s been great.”

While the younger players have been excelling for Tualatin, Jordyn Smith, the only playing senior on the squad (senior Trinity Scott is the team manager), has seemed to take her game to a higher level on both ends of the court.

“I feel like I have a pretty big role on the team, especially defensively,” said Smith, who had 13 rebounds, eight points and three blocks in the win against West Linn. “I see everything that others may not see, so I call it out. Offensively, not only am I that first look, but I also have to be there if someone gets into trouble.”

Jordyn Smith / Photo by Dan Brood

Smith, a first-team all-Three Rivers League selection as a junior, has stepped into somewhat of a leadership role.

“Being the only senior on the floor, I have to have that maturity,” said Smith, who has season averages of 12.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. “I like to be a leader on the floor, but we have everyone stepping up, so we don’t have to have that one person.”

In addition to Smith and the freshmen, the Timberwolves also have some key returnees in junior Alex Padilla, a first-team all-league pick last season who is battling back from injury, junior Maaya Lucas and junior Ries Miadich.

“This is a great crew. It’s so much fun,” Pappas said. “We’ve got nothing but great kids. It’s a joy to be around these kids every second. We’ve got unselfish kids who are just good kids who want to work hard.”

That includes Best, who, like the rest of the squad, is eyeing the first state championship in Tualatin girls basketball history.

“It won’t be easy, but I think we can do it,” she said. “It’s going to take consistency. Keep working hard, keep getting stronger. When it comes to that time, we need to just walk in and play our game.”

Download the SBLive App

To get live updates on your phone — as well as follow your favorite teams and top games — you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App | Download Android App