Tribune/Steve Hanks
Although sisters Vanessa (left) and Kendra West look alike, their talents on the basketball court are somewhat divergent. Kendra, a senior, is most adept at battling in the paint while Vanessa, a freshman, prefers driving to the basket or shooting from the outside.

 

Brief renewal of sibling rivalry; Kendra and Vanessa West share one last athletic adventure with Warriors

The shared childhood of Kendra and Vanessa West followed themes familiar to most sibling stories. The sisters fought with each other, and they loved each other. When Kendra took up a new sport, younger Vanessa was always determined to beat her at it.

"And if we were closer to the same age," Vanessa said recently, "we might have competed over boys or something."

But here is where their story deviates from the norm. With both of them now edging into adulthood -- a time when most siblings start drifting apart -- the Wests have spent this basketball season together, as Lewis-Clark State's top power forwards.

The sisters from the southern Idaho town of Jerome still maintain a robust rivalry (their showdowns in practice are reputed to be no-holds-barred affairs). But they now seem to have a better appreciation of their relationship.

The Wests and the Warriors will begin play in the Frontier Conference tournament Thursday at Butte, Mont., taking on Great Falls in the first round at 11 a.m. PST. After that event, LCSC is hoping to qualify for the NAIA national tournament.

So at some point this month, the sisters' one college season together will end. Kendra, a senior, is planning to marry fiance Shane Keen this summer, then return to school to finish her elementary education degree. Vanessa, a freshman, still has three seasons left.

These two nicely complement each other on the court. Since they share the same position -- Kendra is the starter, Vanessa comes off the bench -- they often trade notes in the midst of games.

"In the middle of the court," Kendra said, "we'll tell each other something like, 'She socked me in the gut. You've got to get her.' 'She knocked Cami (Kalbfleisch) down, go get her.'

"It's worked out well because whenever I'm not playing good, she's playing good," Kendra added. "And whenever she's not playing good, I'm playing good. We've actually balanced each other out pretty well."

Their skills are also varied. The 6-1 Kendra is at her best in the paint, wrestling for rebounds. She recently passed Amanda Campbell and Rosie Albert to become LCSC's career rebounding leader. She is averaging 9.8 points and 5.7 boards this season.

Meanwhile, the 6-2 Vanessa has the potential to be a more potent scorer. She has averaged 5.7 points and 4.0 rebounds during her somewhat surprising rookie season.

And what about their personalities? "Oh, night and day," Kendra said.

Vanessa "is the opinionated, I'll-tell-you-what-I-think person," Kendra said, "and I'll be nonconfrontational and like 'Everybody's happy.' "

"She keeps the order on our team," Vanessa said of her sister. "I'm ready to say what's up, and she'll say, 'No, no, you have to understand that they're feeling this way. You have to make sure not to offend them.' "

Sheryl West, the sisters' mother, said Vanessa always gravitated toward speech and drama in school. (She is now studying communications at LCSC.) Meanwhile, Kendra was more of a "caretaker" of people, Sheryl said.

But Sheryl and LCSC coach Brian Orr both said the sisters share plenty of traits. Kendra has always been a favorite among LCSC boosters, and they have begun to gravitate toward Vanessa as well.

"They love kids, they love family," Orr said. "You watch them during a men's game after we play. I'll turn around and Kendra is carrying somebody's kids, and over here Vanessa's got somebody else's kids."

The sisters' parents are both art professors at the College of Southern Idaho at Twin Falls. Bill West played college basketball at the Caldwell school now known as Albertson, and the couple often took their daughters to athletic events.

The Wests have another daughter, Justine, who is nearly 10 years older than Kendra. So the two younger girls spent most of their time together as they grew up.

With a three-year head start, Kendra, of course, was more advanced than her younger sister. But that didn't stop Vanessa from wanting to overtake her -- even when it came to reading.

"Vanessa was 4 when she came to me," Sheryl said. "She cried because she thought there was something actually wrong with her because she couldn't read. It was shortly after that that she learned to read."

Given her disposition, it seemed unlikely that Vanessa would follow Kendra to college. After the sisters played together on Jerome High's 2000-01 team, Kendra went to LCSC.

Vanessa "was kind of happy to see her go," Sheryl said. "But when she was gone a year, she really missed her."

As the West family made regular trips to Lewiston to see Kendra play, Vanessa grew more familiar with the players, coaches and fans at LCSC. Prior to Jerome's unbeaten state championship season last year, Vanessa committed to the Warriors.

She has savored this season with her sister, but does Vanessa ever look ahead to the next three years?

"When I start thinking about it, I don't want to think about three more years of 400s," Vanessa said, referring to one of L-C's brutal running drills. "So I pretty much stay in the present."

Then Kendra added a bit of big-sister advice: "Hey, you're going to miss the 400s. I miss the 400s now."

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Baney may be contacted at mbaney@lmtribune.com