Zion Bernard is a rising senior for Richmond Hill High School who last played for the Lady Wildcats basketball team in the 2023-24 season that saw them make a playoff run.
After a year off, she has decided to make a return to the hardwood--just in time to add some leadership and depth to a roster that lost three senior starters to graduation.
“Basketball is one of my greatest passions,” Bernard said. “I’ve always learned something new from the game and I have met a lot of different people with the same mindset as me.”
Meeting new people is something Bernard is quite used to, coming from a military family herself.
“I am originally from Las Vegas, Nevada and my family moved to Richmond Hill because both my parents are in the Army,” Bernard said. “They’ve been deployed since last Christmas and come back in October.”
After not playing for the 2024-25 school year, Bernard felt it was time to get back to the place she loves, the basketball court.
“I took a year off to really figure out what I wanted for myself in life,” Bernard said. “I needed to think about if I was really willing to put in the effort it takes to make it to the next level.”
Although she did have the year off, Bernard has already been working with some of her former teammates as well as some newcomers and is looking forward to this season.
“I think our team this year will be successful,” Bernard said. “We have a young team overall but that doesn’t take away from their skill and talent”
With past seniors Mmekom Inyang, Howard University for track and field, and Jada Brown, Newberry College for basketball, as well as Ariyana Canady all graduating, Bernard believes in the current roster.
“Although we do miss our seniors that have graduated, I do believe we have a chance at being very successful this year,” Bernard said. “We just have to play our own game and not get into our own heads.”
As Bernard settles back in on the roster, she has already found out what her primary positions are, and hopes to encourage others in the squad to work hard and succeed as well.
“I play power forward and center,” Bernard said. “My role on this team is to encourage the younger players on and off the court. I really see a lot of potential in them; it just requires discipline and consistency.”
