Former West Wendover Wolverine phenom Danika Sharp is tearing up the boards in just her second year playing for the UNR Wolfpack.
In the opening gaming this season Sharp scored a career best 21 points in a 91-74 defeat of Saint Martin’s Sunday. Only the Wolfpack’s Senior Kate Kevorken garnered more points in the opener.
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With the win, Nevada improved to 1-0 on the year while Saint Martin’s fell to 0-4.
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The Wolf Pack started the first half strong building a 20-6 lead by the 12 minute mark. Nevada was able to get 40 shot attempts in the first half and held a significant advantage over the Saints on the offensive glass. The Pack out rebounded the Saints 16-6 on the offensive boards and 31-19 overall. With impressive first halves by Kevorken and Sharp, Nevada was able to extend their early lead to 18 at half-time.
Nevada jumped to a 27 point lead midway through the second half, shooting 44.1 percent from the field. With several three pointers made, the Saints cut the lead down to 12 at the six minute mark. Nevada then turned up the intensity defensively to put the game away.
Nevada will travel to Minneapolis, Minn. next week to participate in the Subway Classic. Nevada will face North Dakota State Saturday and will play either Minnesota or Binghamton on day two of the classic.
A 2010 graduate of West Wendover High School and daughter of Barrie and John Sharp, Danika holds just about every major high school basketball record in Nevada.
As a senior she became the all-time scoring leader in the state of Nevada and ended her high school career with 2,803 points. She was named the Nevada Freshman Player of the Year in 2006-07 as well as team MVP and to the first-team all-state as a freshman. As a sophomore, she was named the 2A Southern League Player of the Year, first-team all-state, to the Elko County first-team and MVP of her team. As a junior, she again was named the 2A Southern League Player of the Year, to the all-state first-team, to the Elko County first-team and team MVP. She led the State of Nevada in scoring and steals her junior year averaging 29.7 points per game and totaling 185 steals. As a prep senior she averaged 35.5 points per game shooting 53 percent from the field and 85 percent from the free throw line. Her senior year marked the third consecutive year she was named the 2A Southern Conference Player of the Year, earned team MVP honors and was a first-team All-State selection … The two-time Elko County Player of the Year also was a nominee for McDonald’s All-America honors and Gatorade Player of the Year. She was the ESPN Rise West Region Player for the week of Feb. 17.
She was the first West Wendover athlete to receive a full scholarship to a NCAA Division I University signing with UNR in 2009.
However despite her records and awards questions about Sharp who came from one of the smallest public schools in the state lingered about whether Sharp was really as good as her stats. Could she play hard ball with the big boys or rather the big girls.
Her solid freshman year erased all doubts that Sharp could play at the highest collegiate level and by the looks of the start of her sophomore year Sharp can not only play, she may be one of the best.