By Kyle Roberts
“Cerebral” is a good word for Lady Bearcat EK Jones.
Only in her sophomore season and just her second year overall living in Ruston, Jones (full name Ella Kate, but she prefers “EK) has proven to be a driving factor for this Ruston High squad, who is one district win away from claiming the 2024 2-5A crown.
How doe she do it so well?
It’s her math-loving brain that she can’t turn off.
“I’ll be constantly running numbers in my mind,” Jones said. “I’ll look at all the ways if we’re down that we can come back, or I’ll know defensively what we need to do to keep a lead. It keeps me hyper-focused.”
Lady Bearcat head coach Meredith Graf sees it, too, in her young forward who, while not necessarily lighting up the box score, makes major contributions in so many other ways.
“I can appreciate it because I think I’m a math mind too,” Graf said. “And so I think of it more from just pure angles, which basketball is all angles, all the time, whether you’re on defense and you’re trying to cut somebody off or pass to somebody– you have to adapt and and change. We talk about angles all the time, so I feel like it makes total sense.
“She’s a visual learner, too. It makes everything come together in the sense of her math brain and how she knows where her locations are. She’s somebody who does a good job of seeing the big picture of what we’re trying to do.”
A multi-sport athlete who came from Athens, La., Jones was first a softball player before she fell in love with hoops in the sixth grade. Being told before she was too small, Jones took the challenge to become a better basketball player when she came to Ruston High.
“It was a really big change coming from a small school,” Jones said. “I was at small schools my whole life– usually less than 300 kids, Pre-K through 12th grade. So, here, you have to push yourself harder to make it on the team; you have to make sure you’re good enough to do stuff here.”
Superstar senior guard Jaliyah McWain has seen Jones’ hard work in her time as a Lady Bearcat pay off for the squad, which makes her a great teammate. Even off the court, Jones and McWain are best friends, who have a good relationship as the veteran McWain seeks to impart her knowledge into her friend and protégé.
“I’m like her older sister,” McWain said. “She’s always ready to learn, especially from me,” McWain said. “She takes it well, depending on who is talking to her, and then she takes accountability for some of her mistakes– you tell her something, and she’ll fix it.”
Graf has seen the strides Jones has made in her time coming to Ruston, particularly with her buy-in to the program.
“She just wanted to help in anyway that she could,” Graf said. “Unfortunately, last year, we had those injuries take place, so she got kind of thrown in, honestly because we just had to. But she handled it very well.
“It doesn’t sound like an important statement, but she’s somebody who can play multiple positions for us, because she knows where she’s supposed to be. It’s one of her greatest strengths.”
As the Lady Bearcats move toward playing for the district title Friday at home, Jones was asked what has been her favorite part of the season so far.
Unsurprisingly, Jones’ answer was a play that won’t be on a stat sheet anywhere: a critical charge she took in a game against Arcadia, where the Lady Hornets were creeping back into the game after trailing at halftime. Jones’ charge was a factor in Ruston extending their second half lead, ultimately winning 56-38.
“It stopped their momentum they had going,” Jones said. “And it felt great.”
Now 21-7 overall this year and undefeated in district, the season is rapidly coming to a close for a Lady Bearcat squad that is currently ninth overall in the power rankings. The team will be graduating six seniors that have been critical to the surge of success for Ruston High’s girls hoops, McWain included. And next year, it will be Jones’ turn to be the veteran taking a younger player under her wing.
McWain has advice for Jones moving into an upperclassman role.
“Stay focused,” McWain said. “You’ll have people who need to learn and grow. She will need to take on a leadership role and set an example for the ones that will be getting on varsity. And keep working hard.”
It’s a formula for success that Jones, no doubt, we be able to solve as she continues her Ruston career.
Ruston and West Monroe will tip off at 5:30 p.m. tonight in Memorial Gym on the campus of Louisiana Tech. The game will decide the 2023-24 District 2-5A title.
