Q&A // Airelle Eldridge, Lansdowne, basketball

March 12, 2008

The best-kept secret in Baltimore County girls basketball, 5-foot-9 senior Airelle Eldridge, averaged 22 points and 11.2 rebounds on a struggling Vikings team. The versatile, athletic forward-guard, who transferred from North County last fall, scored more than 30 points four times. One of her best performances (25 points, 12 rebounds) came against No. 7 Catonsville. She plays Amateur Athletic Union basketball for the Lady Shooting Stars and is a two-time All-Anne Arundel County track selection for the high jump and triple jump. Considering a career in sports medicine, Eldridge, who has a 3.75 grade point average, is being recruited by several colleges and is looking at Morgan State, Virginia Commonwealth, Bucknell, North Carolina-Wilmington and North Carolina-Greensboro, among others.

When did you start playing basketball?

I started when I moved to the East Coast. I used to live in California and I came here in my sixth-grade year. I never picked up a ball when I was in California. Then I played for my middle school team [in Virginia].

Were you good at it to start?

Yeah. It was kind of like it just came naturally to me. My dad played basketball in his years in high school, so I guess it was just natural.

What was the transition like to Lansdowne's team?

Coming to Lansdowne, I felt more comfortable here than I did at North County. The girls treat me well and I blended in. It took a few games. They run a little slower game than I'm used to running, so I had to watch and see what they do.

Do you find a lot of opposing defenses key on you?

When the game starts, they usually run a box-and-one or have a chaser on me or something like that, but I'm pretty good with fighting to get the ball. I always want the ball. I play AAU, so it's always much, much harder to get open in AAU, than it is in high school, so I'm used to it. It has to be a little frustrating to be on the losing high school teams you've played on.

How do you handle that mentally?

My mother's been the one who's always been behind me like, "Keep your head up. It's going to be all right. Everybody can't always be on the best teams." It really is hard. I always talk to her about it, when I'm like, "Why do I always get on the teams that don't do as well as I want them to do?" but it really motivates me to push through. My goal is to go to college. ... I try to be understanding.

Your family has moved around a lot. How do you find stability with all that moving?

Basketball just keeps my mind off everything. I'll just go outside and play basketball. I keep in touch with most of my friends.

How far would you like to go with basketball?

I've asked some college coaches, "What do some of the people who don't go to big colleges, what do they do after senior year? Do they just stop playing?" That's not what I want to do, because this is my life. I consider basketball my life support. I've just got to play basketball. Sooner or later, I want to go the WNBA or something of that nature. I wouldn't mind going overseas [to play professionally].

What do you do in your spare time?

I usually either take a nap or fill out some more applications for college. They send you all the recruiting letters, but you still have to fill out the applications to get into the school, so that's mostly what I've been doing.

[KATHERINE DUNN]

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Q&A // Airelle Eldridge, Lansdowne, basketball

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Q&A // Airelle Eldridge, Lansdowne, basketball

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