The Sunday Mail
Online Reporter
BASKETBALL prodigy Melissa Mwanza, who recently moved from Windham County in Connecticut to Virginia in the United States, where she now attends Life Christian Academy and has joined a new club, Shining Star Sports Academy, believes the switch puts her closer to basketball scouts and opens doors to find a good college.
She also hopes this could finally reignite her dream of making it to the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Since making her big move to the United States, where she attained a scholarship to attend Putnam Science Academy in 2020, Mwanza has “had it rough”.
The move came at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected both her social and school life.
“When I came here to the United States, it was during the peak of the pandemic and, as such, made both my basketball and school life very tough.
“I remember there were a lot of protocols to follow just for us to get on the court, and we would often practice wearing masks,” she said.
“All these protocols had a huge impact on the game and my performances, but school was not affected that much as we did almost everything virtually.”
But there is now a lot of optimism in the way she speaks and looks at life due to changes currently taking place around her.
“I am now at Life Christian Academy in Virginia and I play basketball for my school team and Shining Star.
“We play in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), which is sort of a club basketball circuit and there are always scouts at the league games.
“The scouts present an opportunity for one to impress and get a college and varsity scholarship, which is the first step to actually be on the radar of the WNBA.”
