THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015 19

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get better. She worked on her mobility and agility. She played with us in the summer league and came to open gyms. She really wanted to get better. She was a work in progress as a sopho-more.”

But toward the end of her junior year, Fer-nandes started to see some rewards for her hard work and diligence.

“I think a lot of it had to do with her con-fidence,” Hill said. “I think she realized that she could perform at a high level.”

Fernandes also did some summer work-outs with Aquino, the former Observer Female Athlete of the Year who is enjoying a sensational senior year as the point guard for nationally ranked Montclair State.

“She helped me out tremendously,” Fer-nandes said. “She’s become a friend.”

Between Hill and Aquino, the pair con-vinced Fernandes to be-come more of an inside presence.

“I am taller than most, so I had to use my size to my advantage,” Fernandes said. “I had to become more dominant inside, in the paint. The most successful place for me is in the paint. I’m most comfortable there and I definitely feel more confident.”

Fernandes cred-ited her time with the North Jersey Celtics as a source for her confi-dence.

“When you play against the better com-petition all the time, it helped me tremendous-ly,” Fernandes said. “I

knew that was going to make me more confi-dent come time for the high school season.”

Fernandes’ confidence has been quite evi-dent of late, especially the last week, leading the Kardinals to three straight victories.

Fernandes started the week off with a domi-nating performance against St. Dominic Academy, scoring 28 points and hauling down 17 rebounds. In that game, Fernandes had 22 of her points in the second half, leading the Kards to victory.

“Something just clicked in her,” Hill said. “She just took over. She had that look in her eyes.”

In the next outing, Fernandes scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a win over Lyndhurst. She completed her three-game run with another solid outing, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in a win over Snyder of Jersey City, a game where Fernandes only played in the first half.

The three wins enabled the Kards to improve to 8-4 on the season.

For her efforts, Fer-nandes has been se-lected as The Observer Athlete of the Week for the past week.

“She’s playing her best basketball right now,” Hill said. “I’m excited about the way she’s been playing. She just had to believe in herself. In the past she used to think too much if she missed a shot or make a mistake and worry about it for a

while. She’s now men-tally stronger. She now realizes she’s just as good as anyone else and she’s playing with that confidence. She’s really become dominant.”

Fernandes has noticed the change in her play, which has seen her collect double figures in all but one game this season, seen her grab 10 or more rebounds in seven games and earn a double-double in points and rebounds seven times. She’s averag-ing 15.3 points and 10.6 rebounds per contest this year.

“I really am im-pressed,” Fernandes said. “I’m also surprised. I don’t pay attention to the numbers, but when the coaches say some-thing, it surprises me. I’m just glad I can make my coaches and my teammates happy.”

Fernandes has yet to declare her intentions for college. Montclair State and Felician are two schools that have shown interest. Fer-nandes hopes to major in physical education or athletic training in college.

“Someday, I want to be a high school basket-ball coach,” Fernandes said.

Fernandes’ first goal of wanting to become a college basketball player like Aquino is about to become reality, so there really should be no denying her ultimate goal of being a coach. For now, Fernandes is playing like one of the best players in Hudson County – and that’s truly a blessing for Kearny.

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