By John Raffel
Carson City-Crystal’s girls’ basketball program is benefiting from the talents of another Duflo this season.
Mikayla Duflo is from a basketball family that has had plenty of success in Eagle uniforms. She is the youngest in a basketball family that includes siblings Nick, Devon, Caleb, and Shelley. Another sister played in middle school. This year, Mikayla is playing a key role on a team that’s been ranked No. 1 in the state in Associated Press polls.
The senior has been on the varsity all four seasons of her high school career and has enjoyed many highlights.
“My sophomore year at district finals, we played against Pewamo-Westphalia,” she recalled. “It was a couple of seconds to go. I stole the ball on an out-of-bounds from them. We were down by one. They fouled me. I hit two free throws.”
Another major highlight was a buzzer-beater to defeat defending Class D state champion Sacred Heart Academy. The shot was from three feet away from the 3-point line. “I knew it was going in,” Duflo said of what was probably the most dramatic basket she’s ever made.
This season, Duflo feels she’s improved on both her offense and defense and is a better leader. She is averaging 18 points, 5.1 assists, 3.5 steals, and 4.4 rebounds per game. She has scored 996 career points so far, breaking the school record of 958.
This year’s team is the best that she’s played on, she said, noting that “we have different strategies. We have a different center.”
Plenty of season is left for Duflo, who’s expecting to face some huge challenges before all is said and done. “Districts are going to be hard,” she said, pointing to teams like Laingsburg and Pewamo-Westphalia as among the toughest opponents her team will face. “They’re all going to be tough”
Being ranked No. 1 “was pretty cool,” Duflo said. “It was awesome walking into places, and people know and are saying we were ranked No. 1.’
Duflo is focusing on finishing her high school hoops career and has indicated that she’ll play at Albion College after graduation. “I like their campus,” she said. “They want me real bad.”
While Mikayla has also played volleyball and softball, the sport in which she’s been involved for as long as she can remember is basketball.
And Carson City-Crystal fans will remember her for a long time, too.