December 11, 2017 By Chris Varney
On Friday night, Grinnell High Senior Sienna Durr needed just 14 points to become the Tigers all-time scoring leader in basketball history. She got the 14 in the first quarter. And she kept going. And going. It was a little like the Energizer bunny. Durr was not done until she had a career high 36 points which set a new single-game GHS record on the same night she got the career mark. Grinnell beat Oskaloosa 94-21 and that is a new team record for most points in a single game.
In my 20 or so years of broadcasting girls high school basketball in the state of Iowa, I have never seen a player that is more talented than Sienna Durr. There are several reasons why:
- Durr is 6″ tall but she plays like a guard. She moves like a guard. She runs the floor like a guard. How many 6-footers will rebound a miss and immediately start a fast break that will usually finish with an assist or a basket at the other end. Her quickness is unmatched for a big player. Her biggest strength is her transition game and that makes it the biggest strength of this Tigers team. Her college choice is Columbia University in the Ivy League and they have 6’1″ Senior Camille Zimmerman who plays the floor much like Durr does, all over the floor. Clearly they envision Durr inheriting Zimmerman’s role.
- Her defense is incredible. Last Saturday against Benton, there were several plays where the Bobcats leading scorer Kasi McWhorter made several moves inside and turned and Durr did not even blink. Usually, those moves would give McWhorter an easy look at the basket. But they did not work against Sienna. In Durr’s freshman year, she set the Grinnell career record for blocked shots. That was the career record in one season. Her blocks have gone down since then but that’s because few players want to challenge Durr inside anymore. Her presence in the middle on defense reduces the size of the court.
- Balance. Durr has tremendous balance on offense. She can drive to the basket. She can post up on the blocks and then move right by you. She can go outside and shoot from the perimeter — that’s right Durr can hit the 3, she is 43% from beyond the arc. There is no one way to defend Sienna Durr because she can score in so many ways it makes defenders dizzy.
- Lastly, Durr is a leader. Last year, Maddie Wilkins stepped up in December and told this team its time to start winning big games. The Tigers responded and Durr learned. This year, Durr has inherited the leadership role. Before the start of the 2nd half on Friday against Oskaloosa,Grinnell was leading 57-10 but Sienna pulled the team together and told the team to not let up, to play your game. She knew that tougher games were coming and the Tigers need to be ready.
Last year after Grinnell lost in the first round of the state tournament, their first appearance in the Well in GHS history, someone asked me if Grinnell will go back to state next year. My answer was I thought Sienna Durr would make sure they did. Sure this is a talented team and I still think the best is yet to come as the sophomores and freshman on the bench gain experience and make the Tigers even deeper. But Sienna Durr is the greatest girls high school basketball player that I have ever covered. She isn’t worried about her legacy yet, she’s just focused on just going forward and going to state.
The fourth ranked Grinnell Tigers will face #7 Boone on Tuesday night — the game will be played at Darby Gym on the Grinnell College campus because the high school is busy with activities. The JV Girls game will also be at Darby starting at 4:45. We’ll broadcast the Girls and Boys Varsity games on 1410 KGRN and myiowainfo.com.
