Meet Dallas Ely

In two games last week, junior Dallas Ely scored 46 points, including 31 in Montrose’s 57-45 victory over Mountain View on Monday.

In addition, she recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds as the second-ranked and unbeaten Lady Meteors defeated Forest City, 39-37.

School: Montrose.

Other sports I play: softball, soccer

Family: Mom, Connie; dad, Bud; sisters, Brittany and Autumn; brother, Troy.

Favorite teams: Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees

Athlete I admire: LeBron James. I like how he plays with enthusiasm.

Favorite food: Chicken spiedies.

Favorite movie: “The Dark Knight.”

Superstitions: I’m very, very superstitious. I have everything packed in my bag the same for every single game. Before the game, I get the same drink. As a team, we go to our friend’s house, her mom always bakes us food, and we always watch “One Tree Hill.” During warm-ups, I do the same thing. I stand between the same people for the national anthem. When I stand on the sticky board, I have to slap our scorekeeper’s hands. All the time, always do it.

Biggest sports thrill: The district (soccer) championship game last year against Mountain View. I scored the winning goal. The only goal.

You had two big scoring games last week. Did you feel yourself get into a rhythm? I play the same every game, but some nights I’m just on. Then I feel better about my shooting. I get frustrated really easily. When my shot’s on, everything just comes. The passing comes easier. The whole game just becomes more fun when I’m having an on night. That just happened those nights, I guess.

You also had 12 rebounds against Forest City. Is that a part of your game this year? I’ve been working a lot more on rebounding. We don’t have the height inside this year. I’m just trying to play a lot more defensively this year and focus more on defense because offense has always come to me, but defense has been a struggle for me. This year, I figured if I could step it up, by next year I’d become the whole player.

Did you expect the team to be doing as well as it is doing? No one expected us to be unbeaten, and that’s all the talk because Forest City was supposed to beat us. We just weren’t supposed to be good. We lost two of our starters.

Have you noticed, without those two starters, other members of the team filling in roles? Yes, our post players have done really well this year inside, and Sara Krupinski has stepped it up as our point guard this year, and then we have Sam Abbott who’s been playing very well. And then we have girls off the bench who can come in. We didn’t know we were going to have a bench. To have Myra Lattimore to come up in the Forest City game, step up and play really good, that was great.

What do you think is the biggest reason the team is unbeaten? We stay together as a team. We don’t allow fighting on the court. We try to keep drama out of basketball. We don’t want anything to come between us and end up ruining our season because we know it’s hard to get, being from Montrose. They just don’t expect it.

Except for yourself, who on your team would you want taking the final shot? I would give the ball to – for just the final shot? Pass it to a person? I’d give it to Sara Krupinski. She can shoot the ball, and she can step up. If I had to pass the ball, I’d give it to her.

Post-graduation plans: Go to college, play basketball. I want to deal with sports, I just don’t know whether it’s as something like a trainer or a Phys Ed teacher.

Three people I’d like to have dinner with: Denzel Washington, DeMarcus Ware, LeBron James.