Athlete of the Week - Malia Nelson, Dover-Eyota Girls Basketball

EYOTA, Minn. (KTTC) – Dover-Eyota’s Malia Nelson is in the zone.

“It’s indescribable honestly. When I’m hitting shots that I’ve never hit before and at the consistency rate I am right now it just complete bliss,” Nelson said.

Its paying off big time, in the season opener she broke a school record with 41 points. The person who had the record before her, her older sister Madison.

“She came home to watch the game and I didn’t really think she cared, but in the stands she threw her head in her hands and she was like ‘I’m happy you broke it, I wouldn’t want any one else to break it.”

The next night she followed up that performance with 42 points and through four games this year is averaging 35.5 points per game, showing everyone, even Head Coach Brian Harris, just how much she’s improved.

“She’s even surpassed expectations, we knew she could score, but she’s improved every year we’ve had her and she’s added a great jumpshot to her game. She’s shooting above 50 percent from three right now and she can score from any where on the court,” Dover-Eyota Head Coach Brian Harris said.

The record though meant more than just bragging rights for Nelson.

“I honestly thought I would never break it because I’ve hit like 23 points and then I hit 41. It kind of like brought my love for basketball back to a new meaning cause I never thought I could hit a record like that and then the second I did it, I never wanted to leave this gym,”

It was confirmation for her of what some already knew.

“Mr. Harris has probably the most confidence in me that anyone has ever had. I think he has more confidence in me than even I have in myself. Before the game he’s like you can do this, you will do this and in my head I’m like yeah I will I’m going to go do that you’re right and then I go and do it,” Nelson said.

So who better to tell you what Nelson is going to do next.

“Probably the biggest thing with Malia she has a big motor, she is constantly 100 percent up and down the court and she is relentless. She just keep going at it and she is really focused, she really wants it bad this year,” Harris said.

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