FARGO — If you didn't have a roster on hand, you probably wouldn't even know Shanley girls basketball player Jaya Taylor was still in middle school.

“I bring the energy and the fire to teams," Taylor said. "Not only the offensive energy, but really the defensive energy. I'm just energy. I just bring all that energy."

That energy is evident at Shanley basketball pracitces, where the seventh-grader isn't afraid to be a vocal leader.

“She has bought in 100%. She's been very coachable," said Shanley girls basketball coach Beth Maher. "Early on, I was just telling her to please be patient with the process and she has been.

"She got her JV minutes, and it was easy to see her dominating those JV minutes, so then she earned her opportunity on varsity and she made a name for herself quickly on varsity as well."

Taylor is averaging more than 16 points per game over the last seven games. That includes a 30-point performance against West Fargo on Feb. 4.

“I'm still learning, but I'm starting to catch on very quickly and it's really good," Taylor said. "It's every day in the gym, just getting better, and it's working. It's perfecting those little spots in my game just to make myself better."