‘If there’s a loose ball, I’m going to get it.’ Merced senior unafraid to do dirty work
Art Solis has a tough time ever pulling Kaitlynn Perez from the game.
The Merced High girls basketball coach knows how important it is to have his do-everything senior on the floor.
Perez played all 32 minutes of regulation and all 4 minutes of overtime in last week’s 39-36 win over El Capitan. Perez finished with eight points, 13 rebounds and seven steals.
“You need her in the game for her rebounding, defense and intensity,” Solis said. “Her effort is amazing. She easily gets us 10 to 15 extra possessions per game with her effort.”
Perez is the type of player that every team needs. She does the dirty work. Against El Capitan, Perez dove on the floor for loose balls five times.
“That’s kind of what I do,” Perez said.
In the Bears first game against El Capitan, Perez grabbed 20 rebounds. She had another 20 rebounds in a 42-29 win over Patterson on Jan. 16. She does it with grit, determination and hustle.
At 5-feet-9-inches tall, she’s never the biggest player on the court. She just never stops chasing the ball and that’s become her role on the team and it’s a big reason the Bears (20-3 overall, 8-0 Central California Conference) are chasing a conference championship.
Perez’s contributions go way beyond her 6.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
“I wouldn’t say I’m the glue, but I kind of fill the nooks and crannies of the team,” Perez said. “If there’s a loose ball, I’m going to get it. I’m going to chase down rebounds. I play defense. I’m going to give our teams more opportunities to score.”
On defense, Perez is usually matched up with the opposing team’s top player.
Against El Capitan, Perez helped limit Sonoma State-bound senior Caly Curran to just nine points.
Perez loves the challenge.
“It’s fun. I enjoy it,” Perez said. “It tests my ability. I know I’m going to have to work hard. I do get nervous, but I try my best and that’s all I can do.”
The question is does Perez ever get tired?
“Heck no,” Solis said. “She runs 3 to 5 miles every morning. On weekends she runs another 5 miles. She’s a cross country runner. She runs track right after basketball. I don’t think there’s a day where she is not running.”
Perez has never asked to be taken out of a game.
“I do get tired,” Perez said. “My coach says that a lot, that I never get tired. I just try to keep moving. If I get tired, I don’t let myself say it in my head. I try to focus on where the ball is and where it’s going next.”
A CCC championship would be special for a team comprised of 10 seniors. It would be Merced’s first conference championship since 2014.
“It would be amazing,” Perez said. “We won CCC championships in cross county back-to-back years but I was only a freshman and sophomore. We didn’t win my last two years. This team has been working toward this since we were freshmen. Now we finally have the cards laid out right and if we can pull it off it would be great.”
This story was originally published February 3, 2020 at 1:30 PM.
