River View girls basketball head coach Gehrig Justice had a good idea four years ago that Trista Lester might be something special.
Special might be an understatement.
Following four years of incredibly consistent play, Lester will now be forever known as on the best to walk the halls in Bradshaw.
“When she came in her freshman year, she was one of those kids that after watching her in little league and middle school, you could see early on that when she reached high school, we felt like would have a good career,” Justice said.
Lester was not only an integral part of two trips to the state tournament for the Raiders over her career, but her name also sits inside the top-10 in numerous all-time statistical categories.
Only former greats Katie Dobbs and Kiersten Roberts are ahead of her in career points, but that only tells a small portion of Lester’s story.
Her balance and importance to the team are reflected all across the stat lines. Lester finished second in career steals, sixth in assists and 10th in career rebounding.
The standout point guard is also the only girls basketball player from River View to be named first team all-state and she has never missed a high school game during her career.
While her numbers put her in an elite category at River View, Justice in convinced they could have been even better.
“Trista lost half of her sophomore year to Covid. Then we had four games cancelled the last two weeks of the season this year,” Justice said.
After averaging eight points per game her freshman year, Lester became a triple-double threat every night over the last three seasons.
During her senior season, Lester averaged 15 points, seven rebounds and four steals and earned all-state honors for the third straight season.
“She had a really good regional game. We came up a little short, but it wasn’t because of anything that she put out on the floor,” Justice said. “I would have loved to have had another trip to Charleston for her because she has been the cornerstone of our program these past three years. From a personal production level and taking on some leadership roles that she has previously shied away from, I really thought she had a really great senior year.”
Over the last three seasons, the Lady Raiders have had their hands full with injuries and players missing games because of Covid issues. Lester was always the constant for Justice.
“Trista answered the call for us this year,” Justice said. “From late December to the first of February, she played as good as anybody I have ever had play. She was getting 20 points per night, seven or eight steals and seven or eight assists. She became that best player on the floor during that run where we beat James Monroe, Westside, Tolsia and Tug Valley.”
“The night we lost to Greenbrier West at our place by a basket, she scored 22 or 23 points and scored her 1,000th point. You always hope that kids will have their best year during their senior year, but sadly that doesn’t happen because of pressure, expectations or whatever. I really think she saved her best for last.”
Great girls basketball players at River View High School are nothing new and Justice believes Lester arrived at just the right time during her formative time as a freshman.
“Her freshman year she had the luxury of playing with four seniors, (Kristen) Calhoun, (Madison) Blankenship, (Demi) Lester and (Emily) Auville who had nice careers. That kind of walked her into it,” Justice said. “Freshman sometimes have the obligation that they have to play. She was good enough to play, but she came in day one with the opportunity to be successful without having the pressure to carry load.”
Saturday afternoon, Lester will join a collection of the best girls basketball players around the state when she plays in the prestigious Scott Brown-Little General Classic at Shady Spring High School.
The girls all-star game will tip at 2:30 p.m. with the 3-point contest for the ladies slated for 2 p.m. The boys all-star game will be played at 4:30 p.m., while the boys 3-point contest is slated for 4 p.m.
