Kyla Durham and Malayah Miller are determined to keep the standard high for the Ewing High girls basketball team.
The duo are the lone seniors returning for a Blue Devils team that graduated four senior starters – including three McDonald’s All-American nominees who are playing Division I basketball now – from last year’s team that reached the Group III state semifinals after winning the state title in 2023. They are confident that this year’s team, while less experienced on the varsity court than last year, can be successful again.
“The confidence really just comes within all of us,” Miller said. “Everybody’s really just a bright light. It’s never a dull moment between all of us, so it’s just like we all feed off each other’s energy.”
The seniors know what it takes to win. They have been in practices through the years with some of the top players to ever come out of the area, and recognize what it takes to win. They are ready for their chance to lead now.
“It’s opening opportunities to show me and show all our other players the opportunity where we could see what we’re about without the three seniors,” Durham said. “It was a tough loss losing them, but this branches us out to show everybody what we’re about.”
Adjusting to their new roles will take some time for everyone on the team. And being a leader adds a level of responsibility to the mix for Durham and Miller.
“It was kind of hard because it was just like I’d never been that leader before,” Durham said. “So I transitioned into being like sixth man, the fifth man to now you’re a leader and you’ve got to step up. So now I’m trying to take that role and try to be the best leader I could be.”
Both have experienced success as top performers in other sports, and they can translate that to basketball now. Durham quarterbacked the first Ewing girls flag football team. She’s fallen in love with the sport and is hoping to take her experience from flag onto the basketball court.
“Playing quarterback in flag football, it really helped me try to lead a team,” Durham said. “Last year, it did help me figure out how I’m supposed to lead a team without everybody that was our leaders from last year. So it gave me the confidence that I could do this, I could lead a team to win or I could lead a team to do good in a season. Because we did good (in flag). We started from scratch.”
Some might think that Ewing basketball is starting from scratch, but the Blue Devils are really getting the chance to show how deep their program is. This season will highlight a new crop of players. Ewing’s roster this year includes juniors Lillie Alston, C’Ianna Brown-Upshur, Brooklyn Ellis, Kayla Smith and Taylor Williams, sophomore Ariana Wadley and freshmen London Bennett, Sammeia White and Analis Maldonado-Washington.
“We have two seniors back who have been with us for the duration and a nice core group of juniors as well as a few sophomores sprinkled in, and we also have now a couple of new freshmen that we introduced to the program,” said Ewing coach Dan Montferrat. “Everybody’s going to play a key. Everybody was focused on those big three kids that went to Division 1. Now it’s pick your poison. We’ve got 10 kids that could really hoop and are excited to do that and make their own kind of legacy as they embark here.”
For Miller, it’s a chance to shine on the court in the same way she does in track and field. While she has been playing basketball since she was 9, she picked up track and field in middle school and was a top-20 shot putter in Group III each of the last two spring seasons. She was 10th in the county in girls shot put last year.
“It definitely helps because alongside track and field it puts me in the weight room,” Miller said. “It definitely gets me stronger for basketball.”
Miller also had to take on some leadership in the offseason while Durham was having her throwing shoulder surgically repaired. Durham, whose shoulder injury cost her time last year during the basketball season, was cleared in November, but until then it was Miller that had to help set the tone.
“It was definitely a different experience because I’m always like the one that’s listening, not guiding the others,” Miller said. “Seeing everything come together over the summer was definitely a long process, but I would say it was worth it.”
Ewing can expect every opponent’s best. The Blue Devils haven’t backed down their schedule, taking on a top-10 Rutgers Prep team to open the season and playing several high profile teams in the midst of trying to keep their Mercer County winning streak alive. The season opened with it at 65 straight wins.
“Our philosophy has always been next person up,” said Montferrat. “You’re learning from the person in front of you. There are a lot of teachers within the program. The girls take a great amount of pride in that this is what the standard is right now for Ewing High girls basketball. They want to keep it that way, and they’ve invested a lot of time in this offseason. They’ve invested a lot of time with each other and team building and chemistry. It’s all there. Aside from the points aspect of it, a lot of other things are just going to kind of fall into place nicely with the culture that we’ve created here.”
After going out of conference to finish December with games against a tough Group IV school, Hillsborough, and Thrive Charter, the Blue Devils open January with games on the road at Notre Dame, New Dorp (N.Y.), Robbinsville and Allentown. Ewing expects to be ready for the pressure spots.
“It’s definitely different,” Miller said. “I love that, just having that pressure on me because I know that with pressure, I can make diamonds. So with this team and with me, it’s definitely going to be a different experience that I’m really looking forward to enjoying.”
Miller will shore up the frontcourt. The powerhouse forward had some big games in the past, with a 10-point, 17-rebound game in a win over Lawrence and a 12-point, 8-rebound game in a win over Trenton last year.
“I can definitely bring in a lot of rebounds and definitely clean up the boards and finishing up the dirty work,” Miller said. “And of course the points go along with that.”
Durham will help in the backcourt. The tough guard had eight points in the state win over Colts Neck last year and seven points and five big rebounds in their quarterfinal win over Ocean Township.
“I feel like I can provide everything around defense, contributing points, getting some of the rebounds – we’ve got some beasts on our team,” Durham said. “I can contribute to the all-around.”
The two know they’re not alone in helping to sustain the Blue Devils success. The younger players will be important too to figuring out how to succeed on varsity in bigger roles.
“I’ve known these younger kids for years now because they always play with my sister,” Miller said. “But seeing them adapt from middle school basketball and AAU basketball to this type of high basketball energy, high school game intensity, I’m seeing them grow and adapt to that and it’s really amazing to see because they’re really fast learners.”
The seniors have tried to be sounding boards for the less experienced players. They are there to listen and advise them when they have questions. They are looking to do all they can to keep the program strong in their final scholastic season.
“Kyla Durham and Malayah Miller, they were here in some huge games,” Montferrat said. “They’ve been in some huge spots. Kyla has had games where she’s popped and same thing with Malayah. Now they get to continue and lead by example and lead vocally and that’s been really great to see them just embrace that and how the other girls, the younger girls, have also been sponges soaking up what the upperclassmen have been trying to instill in them.”
Both seniors are looking into college options with their academic studies being their highest priority. Durham has a passion for true crime that she hopes to follow into a career in the FBI. Miller hopes to remain connected to athletes and that environment when she studies kinesiology or pre-therapy at one of her top choices of Alabama or North Carolina A&T. But both are first focused on doing all they can to keep the girls basketball program among the best in the state.
“All I can do is contribute to all of our wins and make sure that we’ve got our heads up with all of our losses,” Durham said. “I’m here to contribute anything I can.”
“I’m looking forward to this year,” Miller said. “I’m looking forward to still having those high expectations and winning these high demand games.”
Ewing High School girls’ basketball players Kyla Durham and Malayah Miller.,
