The Lady Panthers of Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax
won their second consecutive WCAC championship and their
ninth straight VISAA championship in late February. Senior
forward Kendall Hunter was named to the VISAA Division I
First Team All State and also was honored as Player of the
Year. As she prepares to graduate and begin studies at
Indiana University of Pennsylvania, she looked back on her
years at Paul VI.
Q: If you could choose one great memory from any game at PVI,
what would that be?
A: Winning the WCAC Championship last year. It was nerve
racking because it was the first time PVI girls basketball
had ever made it to the WCAC finals. When we won, the VI Man
stormed the court, and I ended up on the very bottom of the
dog pile. It was hilarious, but so much fun.
Q: What do you think you bring to the court?
A: Talent wise, I think I bring the element of surprise on
offense because I’m not one of the leading scorers, so at
times I throw people off by scoring a lot in a short period
of time. I’m also left-handed. It really throws the defense
off because they’re expecting me to be right-handed, so they
force me to drive left. Since it’s my strong hand it just
backfires (on) them.
Q: What do you like most about playing at PVI?
A: We (the team) have been through so much together, good and
bad. They’re a great group of girls and like my second
family. We have a lot of fun together and they always have my
back.
Q: What advice do you have for younger players?
A: To not be so hard on themselves. Sometimes it can be
really stressful playing in a competitive high school
basketball environment. I would also tell them to have fun
and don’t take it for granted, because it goes by fast.
Kendall Hunter photo
COURTESY PAUL VI
Paul VI forward Kendall Hunter goes for a left-handed lay-up.
The senior was named VISAA Player of the Year.
