Friday Features: UAH women’s basketball senior class shares more than most
By Mike Perrin
Playing defense against a good women’s college basketball team like the University of
Alabama Huntsville is tough enough, but sometimes sorting out a man-to-man defense against the Chargers doesn’t even seem fair.
You see, UAH’s senior class this year consists of
Dina and
Josi Saunders and
Halle and
Sara Jarnagin. Two sets of sisters. Two sets of twin sisters.
“Most teams that we play are fascinated that there are twins on the team,” Dina said. “I guess we actually give teams a hard time when it comes to defense. The first couple of plays in a game, especially in high school, you could hear girls on the other team say, ‘Wait! There’s two of them! I have this one … no I have this one'."
“It’s funny to hear that on the court.”
It’s funny, and the twins wouldn’t have it any other way. The Saunders sisters out of Huntsville’s Westminster Christian Academy are identical 5-foot-7 guards. The Jarnagins from Brentwood (Tenn.) High are fraternal twins, but they share a striking resemblance – especially when they are running the courts across the Gulf South Conference.
“Opposing fans have called us the ‘Twin Towers,’” said Halle, who is 6-1, while older sister – by 2 minutes – Sara, is 6-2.
UAH’s twins live together off campus – all four of them – and have for a while. On the road, though, coach
Andrea Lemmond assigns roommates because she “likes to put us with people we’re not around as much,” said Sara. “I really like it because it gives you a chance to bond with other teammates a little more.”
The twins have combined to score almost half of all the Chargers’ points this season for the team that is 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the GSC. Halle’s 10.7 points per game lead the squad and she’s also tops in rebounding at 7.8 per game.
Dina scores 9.9 points a game, second on the squad. Josi, who is one minute older than her twin, is scoring 8.6 ppg.
All four said they were thrilled to have had the chance to play the game they love with their closest friend. Only Halle could think of a “worst” thing about playing with her sister. “The worst thing about playing college basketball with my sister has been playing the same position – for the first time – the past two years,” she said.
“The best thing,” Halle said, “is the opportunity to play with my best friend. I always have someone to lean on after hard days and someone to celebrate with after good days. I’m so thankful we have been able to experience the opportunity of playing college basketball together.”
Sara said, “We’ve been playing together for so long that it’s just completely natural when we’re on the court together. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses so well that we end up helping each other out a lot and we know how to use that knowledge when we’re playing.”
“The best part about it is that I get to experience this with her, because there has been a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to this point in our careers,” Josi said, “and God knows that I could not and would not want to go through this experience with anybody else.”
Dina chimed in, “I get to go to school and play the game that I love with my best friend!”
She also said, “As kids we were very competitive and we are still competitive now. Sometimes, just about everyday stuff, and it’s a little ridiculous, but that’s just how we are. It think that actually makes us closer since we are so competitive because we know we are making each other better and, hopefully, helping our team.”
The women agreed that when a sister gets in hot water with a coach during practice or a game that they feel a little extra protective, but they’ve never spoken up about it. Although once, Dina said, she caught some undeserved heat.
“A coach got us confused when my sister messed up and the coach yelled at me,” she said. “It was awkward, but I didn’t want to correct the coach because he was so mad. One of my teammates corrected him and he apologized.”
Sara didn’t think she was overly protective if Halle was on the receiving end of some coaching criticism. “I’m not more protective, but I know how she thinks and how she responds to certain things, so I feel more comfortable with saying what she needs to hear to pick her up or get her to respond the way she needs to,” she said. “We’re just close, so it plays into the dynamics of how we interact on the court.”
The Chargers’ seniors have already considered that they have just one more semester of basketball together. In a word, Josi said, it’s “bittersweet.”
“I’ve enjoyed being able to experience college basketball for four years and also to do this with my sister,” she said. “I just want this to be the best season yet. And now we just have to find another way to spend time together to fill up the space where basketball was – and I can’t wait!”
Her twin said the end of her college career “is a sad feeling, but also exciting. This game has been a part of my life for 16 years and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way,” Dina said. “It is sad to think about not playing with my sister since I have literally been playing with her my whole life, but times change. This part of my life is ending, but that just means something else is about to begin.”
The Jarnagins were on the same page in their thoughts about graduating.
“I am trying to make the most and take advantage of the time we do have left to play and live together,” Halle said. “Next year will be the first time we have lived apart!”
Said Sara, “I’m really excited for everything this year holds and just want to enjoy every moment. All great things have to come to an end at some point, but I don’t want to end up regretting anything along the way. Playing basketball with my sister throughout my life has been so special for me. I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to play with her in college and share so many memories. It’s weird to think of this as my last year in college, my last year of basketball and my last year living and playing with my sister. All of those things I know I will definitely miss.”
Halle and Sara Jarnagin’s parents are Patty and Barry Jarnagin. They have two older sisters – Lyndsay and Brooke – and a younger brother, B.J.
Dina and Josi Saunders are the only children of David and Caroline Sellers.
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