RMHS' Battle inks with Queens

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ROCKY MOUNT - Perhaps the worst game of Rocky Mount senior forward Dyonna Battle's career came in the championship game of the Nash County Christmas Tournament back in December.

Battle was 0-for-16 from the floor and made one free throw for a 1-point effort in a 14-point loss to Nash Central. She was so upset with her performance that she had to be consoled by her parents, Gail and Donnell, afterward.

She knew she could do better. She knew she had to do better.

The next time she played in a tournament, she was its MVP.

Battle turned over a new leaf once the calendar rolled over and commenced rolling over the competition. The season culminated in her leading the Lady Gryphons to a second straight NEW 6 Conference regular season and tournament championship. She was MVP in that tournament. Her play also began getting more attention from college coaches as the season wore on.

In the end, Queens University, a member of the Div. II Carolinas Conference (a league that includes nearby colleges Barton and Mount Olive), became her collegiate choice as she signed a national letter-of-intent last week to play for the Royals next season.

"This is the right place for me. It just feels right," said Battle, who fought back from her holiday funk to average nearly 17 points a game for the season and pull down seven rebounds a contest. "I felt a lot of stress leave me once I finally made my decision. I am very happy about my choice and I am glad that part of it is all over. My visit there went great and liked all the coaches (its head coach is former N.C. State All-America Trudi Lacey) and returning players."

She chose Queens over Limestone (S.C.) and Catawba, her brother Jemonte's alma mater. Jemonte, nine years her senior, was an All-American defensive back at the D-II school and played in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He exposed her to the Salisbury school, but left her choice of colleges totally up to her. She plans to major in biology or business management at Queens.

Ranked third on Rocky Mount's all-time scoring list (1,290 points, behind Kim Taylor, 1,600; and Danielle Powell, 1,472), Battle, at 5-foot-7, gives a lot of credit to her high school coach Pam Gainey for getting her to this point.

"I can't thank Coach Gainey enough for helping me get here," said the four-time All-NEW 6 Conference selection. "She saw me at Edwards (Middle School) and encouraged me from the beginning at my first varsity tryout to be the best player I could be. Going to camps and summer workouts, I learned a lot from her, and she had confidence in me to lead her teams."

Battle's game was really taking off when Wilson Beddingfield ended Rocky Mount's playoff run (22-5) in the 3-A sectional finals. In the final two games of her high school career, she scored a combined 56 points, pulled down 17 rebounds and went 23-for-23 from the free throw line.  Her career-high 31 points came in the second round against Havelock.

Her late season push got her selected to the North Carolina Coaches Association's District 3 first team.

It looks like she's ready to play at the next level, all right.