Meet Jayce Privia, SJ-R's Small School Girls Basketball Player of the Year

When Jayce Privia stepped onto the basketball court as an upperclassman, the size of the crowds at Petersburg PORTA/A-C Central games really got her attention.

“My junior and senior years, we started to see more and more people at our games,” Privia said. “Usually, for high school sports — especially girls basketball — you may not see that many people from the community and like younger kids coming to girls basketball games to watch.”

Not only have women's sports risen in popularity with the stardom of players such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers, the trickle-down effect is visible in small communities, even Menard County.

The 30-2 Bluejays became must-watch for a lot of people in 2023-24.

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“You heard a lot of people like in the community talking about our team too, and coming up to me, and congratulating me and everything,” Privia said. “So that was just, it was really awesome to see the community come out.”

What fans saw in Privia, for instance, was a 5-foot-9 senior guard who averaged 14.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 rebounds per game who was just as comfortable driving to the rim as she was shooting from the outside or finding an open teammate.

Privia is The State Journal-Register's Small School Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the 2023-24 season.

“I've seen her improve in so many ways, especially more in her ball handling, and being able to distribute the basketball and passing," said Eric Kesler, who coached the team for 10 years before stepping down in March.

“Her assists this season were the highest she's ever had. And her unselfishness and understanding that the more she got out of her teammates, the better our teams would be.”

Learning to take contact

Self-preservation is a natural human instinct. People tend to avoid something that could result in harm or injury.

Privia had to find ways to drive to the basket, knowing she would take contact but still finish at the rim, despite going against bigger, taller and stronger players.

“Playing AAU made me realize this game is very physical; you're going to have to get stronger, you're going to have to absorb the contact,” Privia said. “For a guard, I feel like I'm on the bigger side of guards. Once I learned that I can use my body and take that contact and finish at the rim, I think it really elevated my game.”

Kesler said when Privia added that part to her game, she went up a level.

“Every year she gained more confidence in those kinds of things,” Kesler said. “We talked about, she needed to lead the team and get going to the free-throw line by attacking the rim and using her body effectively.

"I said, ‘You’ve got to find a way to get squared and use your body more, and then when you get that contact, you might have a better chance of making the shot, but also, officials are going to respect that you were balanced and you went up strong, and they're going to call the foul more than likely.”

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Lots of winning

In the four years Privia was on the team, the Bluejays went 94-10. The only thing PORTA didn’t achieve was a postseason trophy, running up against Camp Point Central and Pleasant Plains in consecutive regional title games.

She scored 1,389 career points and finished with 431 rebounds and 376 assists as a four-year starter. She was a two-time all-Sangamo Conference first-team pick, including helping PORTA to an 8-0 conference title in 2023-24.

Despite a mountain of wins, the scattered losses still stung.

“I look at the teams that we lost to, and (they were) great teams,” Privia said. “And then I look at the teams that we beat, and (they were) also great teams.

“The losses suck: I'm super competitive, obviously, and I hate losing more than I like winning. The losses are definitely hard, but only losing (10) games (in four years), that's something to be really proud of.”

Privia, who also played volleyball, will next suit up for the women’s basketball team at NCAA Division II McKendree University in Lebanon, near St. Louis.

“There's definitely nervousness, but I'm more excited,” Privia said. “And I'm kind of anxious to start. I'm ready to get into a routine again, get practice going and everything."

Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com , Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Meet Jayce Privia, SJ-R's Small School Girls Basketball Player of the Year