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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Hewitt-Trussville’s Amiya Payne (32) shoots a 3-pointer during the second half of a game at Hewitt-Trussville High School on Jan. 8. The Rebels defeated the Huskies 56-53.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Hewitt-Trussville’s Amiya Payne (32) dribbles the ball downcourt guarded by Vestavia Hills’ Alison Stubbs (21).
After a made free throw, a timeout was called, leaving Amiya Payne perplexed.
The Hewitt-Trussville High School senior guard walked over to the team huddle wondering to herself why timeout had just been taken. That’s when she was informed she had just scored her 2,000th career point, the first Lady Huskies player to ever achieve such a milestone.
“It was really unbelievable,” Payne said. “I didn’t realize I was that close.”
Payne has been a varsity basketball player since elevating to Clay-Chalkville’s varsity team as a seventh-grader. In her high school days at Hewitt-Trussville, she has made an immense impact from day one. As a freshman, she was a third-team all-state player.
“We knew if you’ve got a kid as a ninth-grader coming off the bench [making all-state], her future here at Hewitt-Trussville is going to be whatever she wanted it to be,” Hewitt-Trussville head coach Tonya Hunter said. “And it is. She’s breaking so many records.”
Payne has had other memorable moments as a high school player, including helping lead the Lady Huskies to the Class 7A state championship in 2019 as a sophomore. That Hewitt-Trussville team won 21 games before falling to Hoover in the state final.
After finishing last year on a disappointing note, Payne and fellow seniors Londyn Johnson and Amir Brown have been determined to get the Lady Huskies back closer to where they finished two seasons ago.
“We’re trying to have the same mentality as our sophomore year,” Payne said. “Staying aggressive and staying hungry.”
Where some players begin to tail off amidst the distractions of a senior year, Hunter has seen the opposite happen with Payne.
“Sometimes you have seniors that come in and they’re excited about their senior year and they have a drop-off, but her focus, I’ve never seen her that way. She’s getting it, and she knows she’s a senior and that people are looking up to her,” Hunter said.
Payne knows the coming weeks are the final ones in which she will don a Hewitt-Trussville uniform, and she is attempting to make the most of every moment.
“It makes me more aggressive than anything,” Payne said. “I really want it this year because this is my last year.”
Hewitt-Trussville has backed up those words throughout much of the season, getting off to a blistering start. Payne notched her 2,000th point in a win over Eufaula, the Lady Huskies’ 13th win in a 17-game winning streak to begin the season.
The Lady Huskies were only knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten by another unbeaten and a familiar foe, Hoover. The Lady Bucs knocked off Hewitt-Trussville 60-58 on Jan. 2 in a tight contest, winning with a basket at the final horn.
That two-point loss was much closer than the Lady Huskies were in the state final against Hoover two years ago, and is another sign Payne and her team are up for the challenge of competing with anybody in the state.
“We always stay hungry, we always want to get better,” Payne said. “We believe that we’re a good team, but we want to be a great team.”
As a player, Payne attributed much of her growth over the years to an increase in confidence and belief in herself. She said she attempts to define the word playmaker, doing more than just scoring the ball.
After this season, Payne will head to Middle Tennessee State University to continue her playing career. After a knee injury in her junior year, Middle Tennessee was one of the few programs to stick by Payne and support her through her recovery.
“They always believed in me,” she said. “They were one of the teams I believed in too, and they have a good spot for me.”
One thing Middle Tennessee loves about Payne’s skill set is her ability to do a variety of things on the floor.
“They told me they liked my versatility,” Payne said. “Even though I’m a guard, I can play 1 through 5 [all positions], and I can guard 1 through 5, so that’s been a big thing for me.”
Hunter will hate to see one of the best players in program history depart, but she believes great things are ahead for the 5-foot-11 guard.
“Amiya has an unmatched work ethic, and she’s made her name from her work ethic,” Hunter said. “It’s been awesome coaching, and it’s going to be even better watching her at the next level.”
