Stepping up to the free throw line, junior Oladokun Ekundayo aims and shoots. Everyone hears the perfect swish as the ball sails into the basket. The crowd goes wild.

Ekundayo helped lead the JC varsity women’s basketball team to victory against St. Frances in 2012. St Frances was fifth in the state, so the JC win was a major victory. “I felt on top of the world,” Ekundayo said, “We had faith in ourselves and God and we knew that we could beat them.”

Ekundayo has been on the varsity basketball team since freshman year. “I sat on the bench more freshman year, but I still got some playing time,” Ekundayo said. Her team won the championship her freshman year.

Ekundayo loves playing basketball. She enjoys going outside and shooting hoops or playing one-on-one. The worst two months of her life were when her mom made her stop playing because she wouldn’t clean her room. “I was really miserable,” Ekundayo said.

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I felt on top of the world. We had faith in ourselves and God and we knew that we could beat them.

— Junior Oladokun Ekundayo

Ekundayo has travelled all around the United States with her team. Chicago is her favorite city that she visited so far. “It was a big city, and it was cool to see outlines of buildings,” Ekundayo said.

Ekundayo also volunteered at a basketball camp in the summer for two weeks. The camp was for children ages 5-14. “I loved it, and I discovered my love for giving back to the game of basketball and helping children,” Ekundayo said.

Basketball is not Ekundayo’s only hobby. She also likes playing music and watching movies with her friends. Not many people are aware that she also has a twin brother who goes to Aberdeen High School. “Some people say that he looks like me but I don’t think so,” Ekundayo said, “He’s taller.”

When Ekundayo is older, she wants go into cyber-intelligence for the Air Force. Her first choice college is the Air Force Academy. “I plan to get two bachelors and then maybe even a masters,” Ekundayo said, “It’s also mandatory to serve in the military for six years after I graduate.” She is considering becoming a basketball coach sometime after that because she enjoyed coaching at the summer camp.

Rachel Amrhein is a Multimedia Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.