Sharifa Love is a senior at East High who has played basketball since her fifth grade year. Growing up seeing her siblings play is part of what made her want to give the sport a try, which she ended up loving.

“Watching my older siblings play gave me inspiration to try something new,” she said.

Love’s favorite thing about playing basketball for her school is when they get to celebrate a win together and see the results of all their hard work.

“The best thing about competing for my high school is coming out with a win and working as a team with all our effort,” she said.

Love has had her own set of obstacles when it comes to competing, including an ACL surgery that she says now motivates her to stay strong and be her best on the court.

“What motivates me to do my best is knowing how strong I came back from a ACL surgery,” she said.

She has some clear goals in mind approaching the season, including helping lead her team to state. In order to do that, she will keep in mind her own standards that she will hold herself to throughout the season.

“One personal goal for myself is to always stay dedicated to the game and also never give up no matter what happens,” she said.

After graduation in the spring, Love plans to further her career in studying physical therapy and, in her words, “of course basketball.”