With a quiet attitude and quick, razor sharp basketball skills, Thibodaux native and senior guard Crescent Washington is a silent assassin for the Lady Colonels basketball team.
Washington said she prefers to lead the basketball team by example rather than the by the power of her voice.
“I don’t talk that much on the court because I am not that loud,” Washington said.
“I let my play on the court show my intensity.”
Washington leads the Lady Colonels with 2.6 assists per game. She is second in scoring with 9.5 points per game, third with 5.4 rebounds per game, and third in steals.
By starting every game this season, Washington also leads the team in minutes per game with a 30.9 average.
In perhaps her biggest game so far this season, Washington had 15 points while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out five assists in an 86-54 win over Loyola-New Orleans earlier this season.
Although the Lady Colonels 6-11 and 3-7 Southland Conference record is not very favorable, Washington said she is proud of the way the team has stuck together.
“We have a real good team even though we have some ups and downs, but we are sticking together and not pointing any fingers even though we are not doing that well,” Washington said.
Despite showing basketball skills that take some players a lifetime to develop, Washington said she started to love the game of basketball at the age of 12.
“It was in the seventh grade when my friend had tried out for Biddy Basketball, and in junior high she said, ‘Come and try out with me’,” Washington said.
“I had never played before, but I made the team. After that, I worked out that summer and it just went off from there.”
During her days at Thibodaux High School, Washington scored more than 1,300 points in her career with an average of 22 points per game her senior season. She led Thibodaux to two Bi-District championships and was named team MVP.
Throughout her senior season, Washington was first team all-district and parish, second team all-region and honorable mention all-state honors.
“I would say my most memorable high school moment was when we defeated South Lafourche on the road. The environment was hostile, and we had never beat them at South Lafourche before. That was a very big moment,” Washington said.
Louise “Do” Bonin, head women’s basketball coach, said she is proud to have a local player on the team.
“It has been exciting for us to have a local player in our program. That to me is special because she is the only Thibodaux High School student ever to come through the program for us.”
After high school, Washington attended and played basketball at Delgado Community College in New Orleans. She averaged 10 points during her final season.
Washington said her relationship with Bonin has been the typical player-coach relationship.
“We have been real close. I think she was kind of surprised by how well I did last season. If I am doing something wrong, she will let me know,” Washington said.
Bonin said she is impressed with the strides Washington makes both in academics and athletics. Washington is a business administration major, and she regularly maintains a 3.0 GPA.
“She is a great academic student, and I think her academic priorities make her a great role model for our younger players. She is very self-motivated and driven off the floor,” Bonin said.
Washington said that if she could think of any adjective that would describe herself and the first letter of her first name, it would be courage.
“I am very courageous because I am not scared of anything. I am only scared of one thing, and that is God. Anything else, I feel I can handle it.”
By clowning with her teammates, Washington said her main job is to keep the team happy.
“I just like to make everyone laugh because sometimes it is rough out there, and a little joke now and then eases that.”
Before her days as a Lady Colonel basketball player is over, Washington said there are a few things she wants to add to her legacy.
“I just want to be known as a player that played hard and gave my all. I don’t have many personal goals as far as wanting to be a leader, but just to be known as the player on the court that if they’re not there, something is missing,” Washington said.
“But when they are there, it is there.”