FOREST PARK, Ohio — Winton Woods point guard Chance Gray has plenty of reasons to smile during her senior season.
"This is probably the most fun season I've had all four years," Gray said before Tuesday's practice. "I just enjoy the people I'm around, people I'm playing with. I've had a lot of fun being coached by my dad and my sister. Practices and games are fun so it's been a really good season."
Gray, who signed with the University of Oregon, said she is grateful to be coached by her father, Winton Woods girls basketball coach Carlton Gray, and sister, assistant coach Amber Gray.
"Sometimes I am harder on her than I am on others because she has a different level of expectation," Carlton Gray said. "And I just want to push her so that when she gets to college there is nothing anyone can say to her that's going to ruin her day."
Gray is planning to major in English at Oregon and has aspirations of going to law school. She currently has a 4.0 grade-point average.
"She's a kid that takes her grades seriously," Carlton Gray said. "And as a parent, you can't ask for more than that."
The same can be said for basketball.
Last month, Gray was named a McDonald's All American, the same prestigious honor her sister received in 2008. It was yet another proud family moment, but her sister said Gray keeps all of her accolades in perspective.
"She doesn't get caught up in highlights and wanting to do this, that or the other," said Amber Gray, a former University of Tennessee and Xavier University player. "She's just a grinder. And I can say that because I see it. Anything that she has gotten she has worked for. And she deserves every bit of it."
Gray averages 26 points, five rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.3 steals as Winton Woods (22-1) prepares to play Walnut Hills (6-14) in a Division I second-round sectional girls basketball game Wednesday night at Harrison.
She is a significant reason why Winton Woods has won 20 consecutive games and captured the Eastern Cincinnati Conference title — the school's first girls basketball conference title since 2011.
Gray, who played three seasons at Lakota West, has 325 career 3-pointers, fifth on the Ohio High School Athletic Association's all-time list for most 3-point goals made.
Despite the national spotlight, Gray said her focus is on Wednesday night.
"Right now I'm just kind of in the moment," Gray said. "I just want to end on a good note, but I'm sure after the season ends I will look back and be thankful for all the memories that were made."
Those memories will include a basketball legacy interwoven with family and for being a true student-athlete.
"I've always strived to be my greatest in school and basketball so that was always a part of it," Gray said. "Growing up, academics was always first and it played a big role in our family."
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