Athletes of the Week: Nikki Richards

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2000 | 10:10 a.m.

Nikki Richards

High School: Cimarron-Memorial

Class: Senior

Sport: Girls basketball

Family: Father Kelly; mother Andrea; brother Kelly II; sister Aisha.

Last week: Richards spearheaded the Spartans' drive to the 4A State Tournament, helping her club to a first-round win over Bonanza on Wednesday and a stunning 48-47 overtime upset of Bishop Gorman in Friday's semifinal round. After scoring 14 points in a 44-39 victory over the Bengals, Richards had her best game of the season against the Gaels, scoring 20 points, including the game-tying basket on a drive with time winding down. In overtime, she tallied seven of her club's eight points to lift Cimarron to its first state tournament berth since 1995. "No one gave us a chance," Richards said. "We got no respect coming in. I'm a leader on this team, and I felt I had to make something happen." In the Sunset championship, Richards scored a team-high 14 points in her club's 50-42 loss to Centennial.

This season: Richards was the Spartans' leading scorer during the regular season, averaging 15.6 points in her team's 20 games. She also pulled down nearly eight rebounds per game and dished out 47 assists. "She didn't feel she got the recognition she deserved last year," Cimarron coach Gina Davis said. "So she's been working hard this year. They had high expectations going into the Gorman game, especially Nikki, who wanted to go to state her senior year."