Woodbridge's Anderson reels in a scholarship

Altia Anderson, a Woodbridge girls basketball player who will be signing a scholarship to play at Marquette this fall.

Altia Anderson, a Woodbridge girls basketball player who will be signing a scholarship to play at Marquette this fall.

Altia Anderson isn’t your typical college-bound women’s basketball player.

She loves to fish, often pulling catfish out of the Nanticoke River or coaxing bass out of a pond on the Woodbridge High School campus.

When she went to Marquette on a recruiting visit, part of the trip was a tour of Growing Power, an urban agricultural organization that operates the last functional farm in the Milwaukee city limits.

She saw tanks teeming with tilapia and lake perch, and a market allowing city residents to buy fresh fish, produce and eggs. It all fit perfectly into the 4.0 student’s plan to major in biological sciences and one day own a fish farm.

“That was awesome,” Anderson said. “It was a farm that used everything all over again. They didn’t waste anything.

“I want to grow something.”

So the Woodbridge senior signed with Marquette last November, choosing the Golden Eagles over George Washington and Princeton. Then she went out and dominated the Henlopen South, averaging 19.3 points, 14.2 rebounds, 5.7 blocks and 3.8 assists per game.

The 6-foot-2 Anderson led the Blue Raiders to the conference title and perhaps the school’s first state tournament victory ever, and she was selected as the Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association’s Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

Anderson was rated best in a year dominated by underclassmen. Only six seniors were among the 15 players to make the All-State first, second and third teams.

Sanford’s Chrishyanah Alston was the only other senior to join Anderson on the first team. The others in the top five were Concord junior Aahliyah Selby and the backcourt duo of sophomore Maggie Connolly and freshman Alisha Lewis from state champion Ursuline.

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Dominant season

Anderson stood out because of her size, shooting touch and the overwhelming impact she had on her team. Woodbridge went 15-8 overall and 11-1 in the Henlopen South, achieving its No. 1 goal of a conference championship.

“We set a goal for that straight off the bat, right when the season started,” Anderson said. “We all bought into it.”

Woodbridge earned a home game in the first round of the playoffs and downed A.I. du Pont, 43-33. Afterward, coach Emilio Perry said the school may have won a postseason game in 1970, but the state tournament didn’t start until 1973. Whatever the case may be, the Blue Raiders made some history.

They were fueled by Anderson, who finished with 14 points, 18 rebounds, six assists and three steals. She often fed sophomore Mykle Crippen, who went 5 for 5 from the floor to score 10 points.

“All I really had to do was pass it, because they were in the open spots,” Anderson said.

Moving to the point

It was a dominant performance, even though Anderson was playing out of position.

“I wanted to use her like a stretch four [power forward], potentially have her taking a lot of mid-range jump shots, because I know that’s how Marquette is going to use her,” Perry said. “But we were just having a struggle bringing the ball up the court, so she was the point guard for 90 percent of the year.”

Anderson had played a little point guard for the MESB Wolf Pack AAU team from Salisbury, Md., the previous summer. She believes the experience will help her transition to the college game.

“It’s going to help me by allowing me to be a more versatile player,” Anderson said. “It’s going to allow the coach to possibly call me out and say, ‘Hey, I need you to bring up the ball for this play.’”

There were some growing pains. Anderson had to learn how the lead ballhandler sets up the rest of the team.

“Something she battled with was she felt like she had to win the games at times by herself,” Perry said. “I said, ‘I don’t ever want to take that away from you, to be that competitive, but you have to figure out a way to make the girls around you better.’

“That was the one thing that I thought she really got better with near the end of the year. She trusted in her teammates and understood how she could make the team better.”

A huge transition

Now it’s time for the next step, and it will be a giant leap from the Henlopen South to the Big East. Marquette finished 14-16 overall and 9-9 in the conference last season, and Anderson can hardly wait to get started with coach Carolyn Kieger’s team on July 1.

“I’m so excited,” she said. “The adrenaline running through my body makes my hands shake. I trust the coaches there. I’m ready.”

A.I. du Pont coach Tracy Howell, who enjoyed a successful career with the University of Delaware women’s team, was impressed by Anderson in the state tournament. But she said a lot of work goes into thriving at the next level.

“This summer will be big for her,” Howell said. “Once you get to college, the girls are big and they’re strong. You’ve got to have a drop step and an up and under and some different things. But from what I saw from her, she’s pretty good.”

Anderson is realistic about her abilities, and ready for the challenge.

“I’m going to have to improve the strength factor and the speed factor, definitely, because Marquette plays at a faster tempo,” she said. “I’m nowhere near a perfect player or a dominant player. There are a lot of things I’m going to need to work on. Many things.”

She wants to grow things. A college basketball career, and a fish farm.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ.

Altia Anderson of Woodbridge was named DSBA Girls Player of the Year and heads the All-State first team.