2020 - 2021 GATORADE
NATIONAL GIRLS BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
SANIYA
RIVERS
GUARD
EUGENE ASHLEY HS
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA
SENIOR
HEIGHT: 6-FOOT-1
PRESS RELEASE

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HIGHLIGHTED STATS
36.800
POINTS PER GAME
11.5
REBOUNDS PER GAME
5.3
STEALS PER GAME
5.100
ASSISTS PER GAME
“Saniya Rivers is the best basketball player I have ever coached against. Her stats are outrageous, but it’s even more spectacular to see it on the court.”
Martin Faison
Head Coach head coach at Knightdale High

Athletic Excellence


The 6-foot-1 senior guard led the Screaming Eagles to a 15-2 record and the Class 4A semifinals this past season. The state’s two-time returning Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Rivers averaged 36.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 5.3 steals and 5.1 assists per game. The North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association Player of the year, she is a three-time All-State honoree and a McDonald’s All-American. Rivers was also selected to the WBCA High School Coaches’ All-America team and is ranked as the nation’s No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2021 by Prospects Nation.

Academic Achievement


Rivers has maintained a 3.38 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at the University of South Carolina this fall.

Exemplary Character


Also a high-jumper for the track team, Rivers is a member of the Ashley Leadership Council and a bible study group. She has volunteered locally as an instructor and mentor for young players at the MLK Center and the Brigade Boys and Girls Club. During the pandemic, she regularly performed shopping duties for an elderly, immunocompromised neighbor.