McKenna Sims is a multifaceted basketball player.
She can score, she can pass, she can rebound, she can defend, she can lead.
The combination of her skill set, humbleness and mental toughness can make for a very difficult question to answer: What one element of Sims' game stands out?
"Gosh, it's hard," her coach, Molly Hornbeck, will tell you.
But we may have found a weakness.
"She was a team manager for us as a sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grader. Terrible manager," Hornbeck joked. "All she wanted to do was shoot. She just wanted to play.
"You could tell (then), just watching her move with the ball … that she was going to be a stud."
The South Sioux City program benefited from a 10-, 11-year-old kid wanting to shoot and play alongside the older girls.
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Sims morphed into an elite player and arguably the state's best point guard. She's also the 2018-19 Journal Star Super-State honorary captain.
Sims is a fighter. She fought through defensive focal points all year, and she helped her team fight to keep their season afloat.
The senior averaged 18.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 4.1 steals per game this past season. Sims will go down as one of the all-time greats in South Sioux City, which is very telling when one considers how successful the Cardinal program has been under coaches Kelly Flynn, Ashley (Robinette) O'Dell and later Hornbeck.
Sims finished third in school history in points (1,447), assists (495) and steals (373), and she accomplished those numbers during the 40-point, running-clock era. Just as impressive: 522 career rebounds, which ranks ninth in school history — pretty impressive for a 5-foot-9 point guard.
"It was a big deal when I was little," Sims said. "I always wanted to be like the big girls that were playing, but I also was thinking about soccer. I pretty much grew into playing basketball because that’s how everything is in South Sioux. I just found a love for the game at a young age."
Sims' numbers this year came while South Sioux City battled some adversity. The Cardinals, last year's Class B state runners-up, lost their second-best player, Taryn Christensen, to an ACL injury in December. A couple of other players missed time, too.
The team found its stride later in the season before heartbreak hit in the district final at home against Elkhorn South. A two-point loss.
"I would say she's resilient," Hornbeck said of Sims. "We lost more games this year than we're used to losing. We've always been a well-rounded team and we were again this year, but with Taryn out and with our other main scorers not being able to play all season, (Sims) was face-guarded a lot, saw box-and-one, and she didn't let that rattle her.
"She kind of took it and rolled with it and accepted the challenge."
Accepting challenges is something Sims has faced her whole life.
She was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia when she was 4 years old. Her fighter instincts began to form.
"I was still really little and didn't really understand what was happening, but I understood I was not OK," said Sims, who kicked cancer to the side more than 10 years ago. "But honestly, that helped me with being mentally strong and that I can get through anything I put my mind to. It really helped me with life situations and even on the court."
Hornbeck recalls a tough moment, and it came in Sims' final minutes in a South Sioux City jersey.
"I know she was disappointed when we lost by two in the district title game, but when they gave us the district runner-up trophy, she was the one who went up and accepted it and held it high over her head," Hornbeck said.
It was a rare feeling for the South Sioux City girls, who reached the state tournament in six straight seasons — and won a state title in 2017 — before this year. And yet, Sims found a lot of satisfaction in this season.
"Honestly, this is one of my favorite seasons, because I just felt like I got closer with my teammates because of these situations and with everything we went through," the Illinois State recruit said. "Everyone got stronger, and it was just great seeing everyone become better people and better teammates to each other.
"That's what I really loved seeing."
Hornbeck said this was Sims' best season.
"We were kind of at a crossroads with our team, and she really put them on her shoulders and was a positive leader, and just a good voice of reason," Hornbeck said. "She kept the girls focused on the right thing the whole time."
So where does Sims rank among the greats at South Sioux City, a school that owns 12 girls state basketball championships? She trails only Katie Robinette and Trish Martin on the school's all-time scoring list. Sims' mother Mindy (Durant) was a Cardinal standout, too.
"In my personal opinion, I think she's the best guard that we've had come through there," said Hornbeck, who was a standout at South Sioux City in the early 2000s. "I think her statistics speak for herself.
"It's a bold statement, because we've had a lot of great players, but I would say guardwise, she's the best I've seen come through there, and hopefully some of these younger girls coming up will challenge that. She's special."
Meet the Lincoln Journal Star's girls basketball Super-State first team
MCKENNA SIMS
South Sioux City  |  5-9  |  Senior
(Honorary captain)
College: Illinois State
Factory made: From a physical standpoint, Sims can do just about anything with a basketball. She hit 46 threes this past season, can power her way to the lane and has a strong midrange game. But it goes beyond points (18.2 per game). Sims ranked second in the state in assists at 6.3 per game and she averaged 6.0 rebounds and 4.1 steals per contest. She nearly had a triple-double and a quadruple-double late in the season. Not only did Sims set herself apart in terms of production, but she also excelled as a leader and floor general. South Sioux City was without several starters for a good part of the season and Sims was among the Cardinals keeping the season together. Sims finished third in school history in points, assists and steals -- an impressive accomplishment considering the rich history of South Sioux City basketball.
Sims taking on a bigger leadership role:Â "I think she knew she had to do that this year in order for us to succeed, and a big area of growth this year was just being vocal. She wants to lead by example all the time, which she does, but she stepped out of her comfort zone and started speaking up more. When things were going bad, getting her team together and rallying the troops. It was nice to see her step up that part of her game, too." --ÌýSouth Sioux City coach Molly Hornbeck.
JAYME HORAN
Millard South  |  6-0  |  Junior
College: Creighton commit
Factory made: It's been a steady, and at times fast, ascension for Horan, who followed a breakout sophomore season with a huge summer on the club scene. That carried over into her junior season. Horan averaged 20 points and eight rebounds per game, piled up double-doubles and helped lead Millard South to the state tournament. Simply put, Horan is a matchup headache for opposing teams. Throw a guard on her and Horan will post up and get easy buckets. Throw a taller defender at her who may sag and Horan will drain threes. She's good at finding holes in zone defenses, but can use her athleticism (she's a Super-State softball player) to beat defenders in man-to-man. When point guard Bailey Urban tore her ACL before the regular season, Horan was among the Patriots asked to pick up more. She took on a bigger leadership role and proved to be a solid ball-handler in press-break help.
Horan continues to get better and better, so what's her ceiling? "If she can continue to prove that she can guard on the perimeter, continue to get a little quicker and stronger and just continue to improve in every aspect a little bit, she's going to be a nightmare at the next level I would think, and for next year. We know she's going to have a nice senior season whether she improves or not, but we want her to be able to contribute big time at the next level, so we want to put her in positions to lead, and make her fight through a bunch of little things." --ÌýMillard South coach Bryce Meyers.
MORGAN MALY
Crete | 6-0 | Junior
College: Creighton commit
Factory made: Maly's monster season ignited Crete's run to the Class B state championship game. Similar to Millard South's Jayme Horan, Maly is a 6-0 forward (and a standout softball player, too) who can stretch the court and play like a guard. She can score from every level and is especially dangerous in transition offense. Despite being the focal point of every defense -- sometimes there were four defenders collapsing on Maly when she touched the ball -- the multi-sport standout managed to average 20.1 points and 8.7 rebound per game. She had 65 assists, 64 steals and shot nearly 90 percent from the free-throw line. Maly could also run point if needed, and she's among the top passers in the state. She played some of her best games under the bright lights, scoring 22, 19 and 24 points in three state tournament games. Maly has already reached 1,200 career points.
Why was Maly able to score so much despite being the focal point of every foe? "She's a very smart player on the court. She can read how people are playing her, so if they're fronting her, she'll wait for a pick and cut to the right spot, use a curl cut. She'll screen and then pop out. She was able to do all of those things which really helped get her open." -- Crete coach John Larsen.
LAUREN WEST
Millard North | 5-11 | Senior
College: UMKC
Factory made: West said the Class A state semifinal against Lincoln Pius X -- a triple-overtime thriller -- was the worst game of her high school career. She finished with two points. West wasn't going to let that happen again. Less than 24 hours later, she dropped 31 points and grabbed 14 rebounds (she had a double-double by halftime) in the state final against Lincoln Southwest, helping lead the Mustangs to their first state championship. West, who averaged 14.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game as a senior, has always been one of the top shooters in Class A. This year, West developed the confidence and killer mentality to drive to the basket on a consistent basis, and it showed in the state final when she finished 18-of-19 from the free-throw line. West also was the Mustangs' top post-up threat, which was key for a team that wasn't particularly known for its size.
Finishing a career the right way: "When you get a kid that's really talented and really driven, that's when special things happen. Are they a bulldog? Are they a warrior? Do they maximize every opportunity? And Lauren totally does. Bottom line is she never wants to waste any opportunity or any chance in practice, in a game or in her career. I wasn't surprised when she made the finals that she had her best game ever, because that was her last opportunity, and she's a kid that never wants to live with regret. I knew that last game she was going to leave it all out on the floor." -- Millard North coach David Diehl.
DACEY NELSON
Oakland-Craig  |  5-7  |  Senior
College: Hillsdale (Michigan).
Factory made: You'll be hard-pressed to find a comeback story this year like Nelson's. She tore her ACL two summers ago, had two surgeries and several setbacks, and missed her entire junior season. She more than made up for it as a senior, leading the state in scoring at 26.7 points per game. A "true gym rat," according to her coach, Nelson added to her arsenal, becoming a dangerous three-point shooter while developing a strong jumper. Nelson scored 30 or more points nine times this season, and she averaged nearly 30 points at the state tournament while leading Oakland-Craig to a third-place finish. That included 33 points -- there was the late three-pointer to tie the game at the end of regulation -- against a Hastings St. Cecilia team that won Class C-2. Despite missing an entire season, Nelson finished with more than 1,600 career points. Nelson's bounce-back from injury is a great story, but she's a first-team Super-Stater because she can flat-out score and coaches praise how hard she plays. No one in the state matched Nelson's consistency.
No slowing down Nelson from Day 1 of the season:Â "I knew she would be (back strong) because if you saw how hard she worked and how much time she spent on her game, it's ridiculous. There's times I have to tell her, 'You know what, I think your body needs a break. I think you should stay out of the gym for a day or two.' She's just your true gym rat. She stays after practice, she's there every weekend, and then a thousand shots. Just because of her work ethic, you probably knew she was going to have a great year." --ÌýOakland-Craig coach Joe Anderson.