As a freshman, Jade Fort helped her workforce win a piece championship. As a senior, she hopes to do the identical.
The Hamilton Excessive ladies’ basketball squad by no means has captured a title on the Metropolis Part’s highest degree, however the Yankees are the favorites to win the Open Division championship, paced by Fort, a 5-foot-8 guard averaging 23.9 factors, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals whereas capturing 36% from three-point vary.
Coach Sherland Chensam calls Fort “an all-around player whose athletic ability and skill allow her to score at any level.”
“From the three-point stripe to her midrange and inside game, she’s able to score with the best of them,” mentioned Chensam, whose star participant netted 30 and 26 factors in a pair of wins over Western League archrival Westchester. “Jade’s improved greatly in her ability to compete in the midst of adversity. Her maturity this season has given her more of a leading voice on the court and the mindset to win at all costs.”
Hamilton is 18-2, ranked No. 1 within the Metropolis and No. 18 in California by MaxPreps and on an 11-game profitable streak. The Yankees have eight wins towards Southern Part opponents and three extra versus groups from the San Diego Part. Fort has two objectives: to win Metropolis and common 25 factors per recreation.
“I started playing softball when I was 6 but I transitioned to basketball when I was around 10,” mentioned Fort, who performed membership for Balboa Hills final summer time. “I like that it’s a team sport, it’s fast, it’s exciting and there’s a lot of stuff to perfect like dribbling, passing and shooting. I like creating my own opportunities and trying to outsmart other teams. I like it when we have close games. The more I play, the more I learn.”
Hamilton Excessive’s Jade Fort pulls up for a jumper over two Palisades defenders.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Occasions)
Now in her third season at Hamilton, she appears to take pleasure in a harmonious relationship together with her coach and teammates.
“This generation of players has shifted greatly as the game’s continued to grow and evolve and the world continues to change,” Chensam mentioned. “Jade’s a coachable player who’s learned through trial and error what it means to not only be a team player but a leader. She’s receptive to what I say and as the years have gone on we’ve built a greater understanding and appreciation for the game.”
Chensam, in her tenth season, believes that is her greatest workforce — at the least on paper — with a varsity roster made up of 10 seniors and one sophomore. The Yankees maintain victories over Windward, Oak Park, Mira Costa, West Torrance, Culver Metropolis, Ventura, Saugus and Redondo Union. The coach cites their largest triumphs up to now towards Westchester and Palisades — groups Hamilton may face within the playoffs.
Chensam guided the varsity to the Division II crown in 2018 lengthy earlier than Fort arrived on the scene. The coach piloted the Yankees to back-to-back Open Division finals in 2020 and 2021, falling each occasions to Palisades.
“It’s the most closely bonded group of girls I’ve had thus far,” Chensam says. “We’re truly a family and Jade’s presence and fun-filled personality is a big part of that. The bond they all share can also be attributed to our on-court success.”
Hamilton boasts maybe one of the best backcourt within the Metropolis with Fort and fellow senior Kinidi Curl, who scored a game-high 27 factors in Friday’s 74-11 win at College. Each Fort and Curl have been All-Metropolis first-team members as sophomores and juniors. The 2 performed journey ball collectively at Paul George Elite the summer time earlier than their junior yr.
“They complement each other well, they know each other’s strengths and they know how to find each other on the court,” Chensam mentioned of her co-captains, who’re “guarding” towards senioritis and complacency, as a lot of the Yankees’ wins have been blowouts.
Curl mentioned belief is the important thing: “We trust each other, we look for each other, we work well together. You can count on Jade to make all of her shots. We’ve played together since our sophomore year but we do have more weapons now and we’re trying to stay in the moment.”
Fort led Hamilton to second place behind Westchester one yr in the past and scored 20 factors in a 66-58 loss to the Comets within the Open Division semifinals. In 2022-23, she and the Yankees took third in league and earned the highest seed in Division I however have been upset by fourth-seeded Solar Valley Poly within the semifinals.
Fort, who lives within the Mid-Metropolis neighborhood, started her prep profession at Worth. As a ninth-grader she was considered one of solely seven gamers on a Knights squad that completed 16-3 below coach Jillian Smith and captured the Southern Part Division 5A championship. Fort recorded 37 factors, 9 rebounds and 4 steals in a first-round victory over Palo Verde within the Southern California Regional Division V playoffs and was named co-player of the yr within the Southern Part together with senior teammate Kaziah Fletcher. She additionally earned All-State second-team accolades.
Hamilton Excessive’s Jade Fort makes a move earlier than a second Palisades defender can arrive.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Occasions)
Fort transferred earlier than her sophomore yr as a result of Worth didn’t have sufficient gamers for the next season.
“I was looking to go to Santa Monica, but they were full so I was put on the waiting list, but Hamilton is actually my home school so I ended up here,” says Fort, who enjoys following the Golden State Warriors and the USC girls’s workforce led by JuJu Watkins, who final season set a nationwide document for scoring by a freshman with 920 factors.
Fort has scored 20 or extra factors 15 occasions and 30 or extra 5 occasions, together with a season-best 36 in a event win towards Scripps Ranch. Remarkably, regardless of her aggressiveness on the defensive finish, she has not fouled out in 20 video games.
“Jade’s dedicated to putting in the work and it shows in the numbers she’s putting on the board,” Chensam provides. “She’s gotten a couple of collegiate looks but her decision post-high-school graduation remains unknown.”
Possibly including a Metropolis title to her résumé will elevate Fort’s inventory.
