Tualatin freshman Love Lei Best taking girls’ basketball scene by storm

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Tualatin freshman point guard Love Lei Best isn’t like most 15-year-olds.

She’s leading the #3-seeded team in the state playoffs, and she’s not backing down from going for the #1 spot.

“Well, I want to win state. Four years, I want to win it all four years so hopefully we can do that,” said Best when asked about her goals in high school.

It’s obvious Best is not intimidated by anyone or anything. That includes her own team.

“We have this defense where we give up the fewest points every year in the state, and then she kind of put it to the test,” said Tualatin head coach Wes Pappas. “In practice, we had to have a whole, like, kind of, ‘Alright, now I’m going to have to get a little after you guys,’ because she was kind of tearing it up.”

That happened before the season even began, so it’s no surprise she’s averaging 14.5 points per game this year.

To say the least, there has been no learning curve.

“It’s meant a lot,” said Best of the year she’s having. “It’s just a testament to the hard work that I’ve been putting in and my team has been putting in. For the success to be shown? It’s been really special and really fun to be a part of.”

Her head coach thinks that this year’s success is only the beginning.

“She just comes to work every single day, and she is a great teammate. I just think the sky’s the limit for her. I think player of the year in the state kind of thing,” said Pappas.

Another tidbit her head coach and many others have said: They believe Best is the next big thing in this state once Clackamas senior and USC commit Jazzy Davidson graduates.

“We’ve always talked about Jazzy, and it’s always been like, ‘I’m going to play her my freshman year,’ and it’s always been like, ‘I want to beat her.’ It’s so awesome, because Jazzy’s amazing. Just for them to say that about me, I love it, it’s amazing,” said Best with a ginormous smile.

Davidson’s Clackamas squad beat Tualatin by just two points back on Jan. 2.

You already know Love’s answer when asked if she’d like to see the Cavs again at state.

“Yes, I would love to,” said Best with a big laugh.