Tumwater’s Aubrey Amendala is The Olympian’s All-Area girls basketball player of the year

As their Class 2A state regional round game with Burlington-Edison approached late last month, Aubrey Amendala and her five Tumwater High School senior teammates were hoping for a storybook ending to their high school basketball careers.

Maybe even a happily-ever-after that included the 2A state championship that had eluded a group of girls who’d mostly played together since elementary school under coach Robin Johnson, Amendala’s mom, in AAU, then at Tumwater.

But at the eleventh hour, the T-Birds’ story became gloomy, more like something out of a Stephen King novel.

After a practice, Amendala’s feet were in pain.

“They were super sore and I was confused. I thought if I iced them, they’d be back to normal,” the T-Birds point guard remembered. “But the next day, I woke up and they were swollen. They were huge, like balloons.”

Amendala was admitted to a hospital for what became a three-night stay.

“She wasn’t sick per se, but she was lethargic. They could barely keep her awake. Her EKG was abnormal. She had a high white blood cell count,” Johnson said.

Amendala admits she was scared. Johnson’s role as coach and mother temporarily diverged. She stayed by her daughter’s side while her coaching staff prepared the rest of the team for Burlington-Edison.

The other T-Birds became vigilant for symptoms of their own, worrying whatever Amendala had might prove contagious.

“I obviously wasn’t able to prepare our team the way you’d want heading into state,” Johnson said. “And our point guard who’d started for four years wasn’t at practice.”

Doctors never did quite reach a definitive diagnosis. By game night, Amendala could stay upright and had clearance from medical professionals who determined that, though she wasn’t whole, she wouldn’t make her condition worse by playing.

She scored eight first-half points, but Johnson had seen enough and kept her daughter on the bench as eighth-seeded Burlington-Edison held off a late rally by top-seeded Tumwater to win, 52-47, in W.F. West’s gym.

“It was really frustrating,” Amendala said. “I kept telling her I wanted to go back in, but she said, ‘Absolutely not.’ ”

Against West Valley of Spokane in a first round game at the Yakima Valley SunDome just four days later, Amendala was closer to her old self, scoring 11 points in 26 minutes, including 3-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc, to go with three assists and four steals, but the T-Birds fell to the Eagles, 56-52.

“It was still pretty messed up, but I could walk,” she said.

Amedala’s toughness, which combines with a high basketball IQ and the versatility to score from anywhere on the court, contributed to her earning The Olympian’s All-Area girls basketball player of the year honor for 2021-22.

She becomes the first Tumwater player to receive the honor since current T-Birds softball coach Ashley Andrews — a multi-sport athlete who would go on to star in softball at Tennessee — in 2007.

Amendala shared 2A Evergreen Conference most valuable player honors with Tumwater teammate Natalie Sumrok after averaging 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals. She’s a returning member of the All-Area first team.

She’ll play next season for Utah Tech, a Division I school in St. George that will change its name from Dixie State University on July 1. Head coach JD Gustin, who also signed Alyson and Catelyn Deaver, the stellar twins from Sumner, calls Amendala “an athletic and dynamic point guard who has a great feel for the game. She’s tough, competitive and has a high basketball IQ.”

Opposing coaches also have praise for Amendala.

“She’s been a great leader for Tumwater,” said W.F. West coach Kyle Karnofski, who coached last season’s player of the year, Drea Brumfield. “She has a great game that will translate well to the next level. She has great speed and a high IQ for the game. Those will serve her well in college.”

Amendala is anticipating college with the same excitement and trepidation as most freshmen. She’ll leave right after graduation from Tumwater for summer classes and practices in St. George.

“I’m looking forward to it, honestly,” she said. “Being on my own for the first time. But I’ll also miss my family, 100 percent.”

Johnson can’t quite believe her long run of sharing a team with her daughter has ended.

“It’s been sad. I’m really going to miss her,” she said. “It’s been a really fun ride. It’s had its challenges but overall, she brings so much to the court that I’ve enjoyed as a coach and as a mom. I’m really excited for her future but it was hard knowing that these were the last games we are going to be together.”

For years, long before Amendala arrived at Tumwater with Sumrok, Cassie Kaufman, Lily McCauley and Isabella Lund from Johnson’s 90TEN club program, mother and daughter traveled the country, a far east as Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville, up and down the West Coast.

“We’d win games, come back to the hotel and lay in bed, watching video of the game together. We kind of did that her whole playing career,” said Johnson. “Those are the times I’m going to miss the most. When we were off the court, laughing and analyzing.”

PAST OLYMPIAN ALL-AREA PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

2001 — Jen Stoddard, Tumwater

2002-06 — None selected

2007 — Ashley Andrews, Tumwater

2008 — Sophie Russell, River Ridge

2009 — Tosha Hollingsworth, Capital

2010 — Tosha Hollingsworth, Capital

2011 — Jasmine McDonald, River Ridge

2012 — Sasha Weber, Timberline

2013 — Jamika Parker, W.F. West

2014 — Nike McClure, W.F. West

2015 — Makenna Schultz, River Ridge

2016 — Jenna Randich, Olympia

2017 — Emma Duff, Black Hills

2018 — Kiara Steen, W.F. West

2019 — Maisy Williams, Black Hills

2020 — Maddy Plevyak, Yelm

2021 — Drea Brumfield, W.F. West