Power in the post

Sisters lead the Northwestern A in scoring, rebounding

COLUMBIA FALLS — Who would have thought they’d turn out like they have?

Paula Standon has this story about her daughters, Kelsey and Kayla DeWit.

Standon got her girls into basketball early — first and second grade — and every year she would buy each a new pair of shoes.

For Kelsey, one year older, it was business as usual — new shoes or not. She was all business on the court.

But Kayla was a different story.

“She never knew what was going on around her. Instead of watching the basketball, she would watch her new shoes,” Standon laughs.

The other girls could go all the way to the other end of the court and start back without Kayla even looking up.

She wasn’t just gazing at her feet — she was actually twisted around, watching the backs of her new shoes.

“Everybody might be coming back at her — and she’d have no idea what was going on. It was hilarious,” Standon said.

Eleven years later, their personalities remain the same.

Kelsey is intense, determined and apt to beat herself up for any mistake. Her grades are top-notch.

As for Kayla ... “I’m more outgoing and not very shy,” she said.

“I’m not taking anything too seriously. As long as I’m passing, I’m fine with it,” Kayla smiled.

“Kelsey is a very serious-thinking basketball player, while Kayla tends to be more of an ‘off the cuff’ player,” according to Columbia Falls coach Dan Fairbank.

Butterflies and unicorns is how Kayla, 16, is described by coaches and friends.

Kelsey, 17, is still all business.

But it’s safe to say both sisters have a darn good idea what’s going on on the basketball court these days.

Close off the court, they complement one another amazingly well on it — at 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-1, they have an almost telepathic knowledge of where one another is during a game. They make up a one-two scoring/rebounding punch that other teams have struggled to remedy.

The DeWits were a big part of Columbia Falls’ Northwestern A divisional title last year.

Kayla was all-state and first team all conference. Kelsey was second team all conference.

This year, they’ve helped the Wildkats get off to an 9-5, 4-0 start. The Wildkats knocked off No. 5-ranked Polson last Thursday night, 61-40.

The sisters are in the conference’s top five in nearly every statistical category.

Kayla averages 19.54 points per game and pulls down 11.92 rebounds. That puts her in first and second place in each of those categories.

When it comes to rebounds, the numbers are close. But Kayla says she is happy to defer.

“When we come down with the same rebound, she gets it,” Kayla said.

Kelsey averages 13.85 points per game and 13.23 rebounds, third and first, respectively. She also leads in blocked shots with 42 on the season and is sixth in assists with 32.

The only two categories that don’t have a DeWit among the top 10 are 3-point field goals and steals.

“They read each other so well on the court. They say they have some telepathy the goes between them,” Standon said.

“We love playing together. Every time coach puts on separate teams, we hate it,” Kayla said.

Fairbank is just glad they are on his side on game day.

“They are two of the hardest working girls I’ve ever coached -- and two of the nicest young ladies,” he said.

“They do just about everything for us. Everybody looks up to them — literally and

figuratively,” he smiled.

“They will do whatever you ask of them and you would be hard-pressed to find anybody in the school who doesn’t like them,” Fairbank said.

Being liked and treating others well are important to the sisters.

“God is our first priority in life,” Kayla said.

“He is really important to us. God is credited for everything and we are just here to thank him,” Kelsey agreed.

As the elder, Kelsey often takes on a caretaker role.

During a trip to youth France last summer, it was Kayla who got lost less than an hour after the group landed in Paris.

Kelsey was wringing her hands and beating herself up for letting Kayla out of her sight when the younger sister came sauntering up the street.

“I could have killed her,” Kelsey says now.

In Kayla’s defense, she got bad directions.

Kayla also discovered last summer that she has sports asthma.

She uses an inhaler and she’s able to play sports — she plans on a triathlon this summer — but it is something she has to keep an eye on.

It’s Kelsey who watches over her now to make sure she’s all right during games.

“I have to ask (Kayla) from time to time. She’s not the kind of kid to complain. Kelsey is more apt to tell me that Kayla needs a break,” Fairbank said.

“She’s scared me with this asthma thing,” Kelsey said.

Off the court, they finish one another’s sentences. While they don’t call themselves one another’s best friend, they do get along fabulously.

“We tell each other everything and we are really, really close,” Kelsey said.

“We rarely fight — and if we do, it lasts three minutes,” she added.

There is no jealousy between them, either. Each thinks the other is the better basketball player.

For Standon, it’s the mother’s dilemma.

“They’re good students, good kids. I don’t have to worry about them. They’re completely trustworthy.

“It’s almost like having twins. Kelsey leaves (after this year), then I have one more year and then they’re gone,” Standon sighed.