Whitmore Lake freshman Kristina Peach (Photo used with permission by Whitmore Lake team photographer Ashley Banahene)
By Greg Wickliffe |gwickliffe@mlive.com
WHITMORE LAKE – Kristina Peach won’t wow you with her stature but her play has already started to turn heads.
What the Whitmore Lake freshman guard lacks in height, she makes up for with her talent and it was evident from the day she became a Trojan.
Peach transferred from the Jackson area to Whitmore Lake last year and first joined the volleyball team before bursting on the scene as one of the best girls basketball underclassmen in the Ann Arbor area.
Whitmore Lake coach and Athletic Director Brad McCormack knew from the first time he watched Peach compete athletically that he had a unique talent on his hands.
“I obviously noticed that she was a pretty dominant little athlete,” McCormack said. “Once basketball season started, it became very apparent that she was a gifted little player.
“You don’t have to be a big player to be an impact player. She just has the will to win. She’s got that ‘IT’ factor. She does what it takes. She’s a very gifted ball handler, very gifted shooter, very coachable and certainly is open to adapting to how she wants to play.”
Immediate impact
Being new to the area meant opposing teams had no idea what they were in for, and Peach, a 5-foot-6 guard, did more than take advantage.
In her first high school season, the freshman standout after averaged 19.5 points, 6.9 steals and 6.1 rebounds per game and was named Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Player of the Year, second team Dream Team in Ann Arbor and was honorable mention Division 3 All-State.
“She’s gotten a ton of notoriety this year and deservedly so,” McCormack said. “I’m happy that she came to our school. I think small schools can get bad wraps like if you come to a small school, you can’t get recognized, but I think Kristina has somewhat debunked that thought.
“Because our school is smaller, she was able to have a far bigger impact than she would have at a larger school. Good student, great kid, great athlete makes her a lot of run to be around.”
Not only did Peach’s skill aid in her success, her confidence didn’t lack either.
“I can compete with anybody,” Peach said. “It doesn’t matter who it is, I can beat them because of my mentality. I love to win and hate to lose.
“This has really been a really good high school experience for me being my freshman year. I just loved it. I love my coaches and my teammates.”
That mentality, along with a team determined to change the program’s fortunes, helped the Trojans produce one of the best seasons in school history.
Whitmore Lake finished the season 19-3 overall and 12-0 in the MIAC, the program’s first league title since 1979. The Trojans’ 19 victories this year were as many as the team had combined from the start of the 2009-2010 season through the 2018-2019 campaign and was the second most wins in a season since 1977.
Peach wasn’t the only reason the Trojans had such a large turnaround, but her impact certainly helped.
“When you have one player that is that talented, it makes a big difference,” McCormack said. “It's a team game and she understands that it takes five players to win games.”
For Peach, her individual success was a testament to the help she received from her team.
“It means a lot because I work really hard,” Peach said. “I just love the game of basketball and the ability to be better.
“My team really helped me. I feel like I made a big impact being a leader on the court. I wanted to make my team better. I just wanted to make people better on the court and help win games.”
More to prove
The goal for Peach is to play basketball at the collegiate level and McCormack believes anything is possible for the freshman sensation.
“In my opinion, the sky’s the limit for a kid like Kristina,” McCormack said. “She’s very hungry to be good. She’s a very humble kid. Some kids, when they burst on the scene, they can get pretty arrogant about things, and I certainly don’t get that impression from her.
“As long as she continues to work hard and be coachable and prepare, she’s going to be a very talented player.”
