CLAREMONT, N.C. — One’s passion and drive to be great in a particular area can sometimes supersede that of just natural talent.
Talent is often warranted, but the ability to excel could be limited if an individual does not have the desire to grow in his or her craft.
Bunker Hill High School senior Damireona Burch represents the latter approach in which growth has been a significant tool during her prep basketball career.
Burch began her pursuit of basketball at just four or five-years-old, and it was always a pathway she wanted to travel down.
She said that although watching the sport was not what drove her to play, she really fell in love with it once she first put the ball to the hardwood.
When it comes to her style of play, Burch said former University of South Carolina star forward Aliyah Boston is someone she has aimed to pattern some of her game after in recent years.
As an athlete in her final high school season, Burch has exuded nothing but passion for the game en route to a dominating performance thus far.
Burch, who turned 18-years-old on Jan. 12, is averaging roughly 20 points and 11 rebounds per contest at this point in the 2023-24 season.
Although undersized at the center position, Burch’s game is predicated on bodying her opposition around the basket while crashing the glass for second-chance opportunities and finishing at the rim. She has also been adept at clogging the passing lanes for steals.
“This season is just really personal with 2024 being my grad year and [in] 2023 I faced a lot of challenges and deaths [to those close],” she said. “My talent was always there; it just clicked with me [this season] and I felt like I’m always being counted out and overlooked and just felt like it was time to show everybody what I truly can do.
“My motivation [through this journey] would be my mom; she’s always been there even when she had to cancel plans for herself; she made it happen and also just my family and close friends who has the faith in me and can see all my talents; also, my travel coaches helped opened my eyes that after this season I’m either going to [the] next level or I’m done, so I had to change the way I looked at things and stop taking it all for granted.”
Despite a struggling season for the Lady Bears, as it sits at 3-12 overall and 1-4 in Catawba Valley 2A Conference action through games played on Jan. 16, Burch has been able to put up career achievements.
In a losing effort against Maiden, 62-24, on Jan. 16, Burch led Bunker Hill with 16 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
“We knew we wouldn’t be the best, but it’s definitely not stopping us from working to become on of the best, and we all speak when it’s a problem but I do feel like I’m the voice of the team because they all have respect for me; they all see how bad I want it, but we all know anybody can speak however they feel and we will listen.
“It took me a while to not just focus on the wins; I would love to have them, but it’s not about that; it’s about the bond I’ve been gaining with my teammates; my goal is to at least finish top 4 in our conference for our team and some goals for myself is to play in the all-star game and finish [as a] top 3 player in our conference. The wins feel good, but it feels better knowing you got a family you won with.”
One of her individual successes came in the conference opening-victory over Lincolnton on Dec.15, 2023, in which she garnered a career-best 37 points to lead the charge.
A two-time all-conference talent, Burch is on pace of perhaps earning herself an All-District 10 nod by season’s end.
Unfortunately, at no fault of her own, the program has lost seven consecutive contests since that 58-53 win over the Lady Wolves. The skid includes a run during the 2023 Dick’s Sporting Goods Holiday Classic.
In three games played during the holiday tournament, Burch averaged 24 points and 11 rebounds. This level of play led her to her selection to the all-tournament team.
On the final day of the tournament, Dec. 29, held inside the Tarlton Complex at Catawba Valley Community College, Burch also crossed another career threshold in which she obtained her 1,000th career point against Newton-Conover.
In the contest against the Lady Red Devils, she collected 30 points and 10 rebounds while going 8-for-11 at the free-throw line.
Burch said that the number one thing for her coming into this season was to strive and get better. She said that being able to hit her 1,000th career point made things even better. She said to do so in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Classic was a blessing because not everyone can say they have accomplished that feat.
In order to achieve her aforementioned goal of finishing top-4 in the CVAC, Burch and company will have to go on a winning streak. It has not been often that Burch has found herself in a losing predicament by having to deal with growing pains akin to this season.
Beginning her career on varsity as a freshman, she found herself in the midst of a successful run during the shortened 2020-21 campaign as the Lady Bears were crowned Northwestern Foothills 2A Conference champions. It posted a 12-1 overall mark and 10-0 record in conference action.
The core of the team consisted of Burch, along with former all-conference talent Faith Isenhour, Addison Wray, Olivia Ellis, Camryn Bryant and DaLesha Linebarger. Bunker Hill advanced to a third-round placement in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2A state playoffs before falling to West Stokes, 67-61, on Feb. 27, 2021.
During her first campaign, Burch averaged 11 points and nine rebounds per contest.
She followed that up with 12 points and eight rebounds per game during her sophomore run in which the Lady Bears finished with a 10-15 overall record and a 7-5 Catawba Valley 2A Conference mark. This led to her first All-CVAC selection.
Furthermore, her following campaign as an upperclassmen saw Burch’s role change from an ancillary piece to a focal point.
As a junior in 2022-23, under the tutelage of head coach David Childers, she totaled 12.8 points per contest while continuing to lead the charge on the glass. However, the Lady Bears were in a state of flux as it amassed a 3-21 overall record and 2-12 CVAC finish (tied for last place).
Under the guidance of the several head coaches she has had at Bunker Hill, it has led to improvements in her game leading up to her senior campaign.
This includes her current head coach Jason Stuebe, who entered his first year at the helm after spending the last four seasons on the middle school level at Jacobs Fork.
She credits all of her coaches over the years with helping mold her into a complete player.
“I give most of the credit to my travel ball coaches [including Team Hickory],” said Burch. “They [are] really the ones who built me into the player I am today; without them, I wouldn’t be who I am; travel ball formed me into a player that you don’t really see a lot around here; without travel [ball], I wouldn’t be so aggressive or passion[ate] for the game like I am.
“[Coach] Swanson taught me that it takes a mentally tough player to play, [while Coach] Childers taught me that no matter who I’m out there with, just have fun; [Coach] Stuebe [has] taught me that every time I step out on the court I just have to do what I do and I’ll get exactly where I want to be; he taught me how to focus and do what I have to do to score/win.”
In addition to having a career season during her senior campaign, Burch has also accrued 10 double-doubles so far in 2023-24.
“[Damireona] Burch has really stepped up as a leader this season,” said Stuebe. “As a rather young team (only two seniors), Burch has really helped the underclassmen on and off the court this year. Burch’s basketball IQ is extremely high so her helping/guiding our younger players is huge for our progress and development.”
Stuebe also said that to average around 20 points and 11 rebounds shows everyone how talented Burch actually is, especially when other teams know she is the focus point of the Lady Bears’ offense.
Because of her strong play, Burch has received two offers via the University of Northwestern Ohio and Cleveland Community College (Shelby, NC). With about a month of regular-season action left, she will look to stay the course with her presence hard in the paint as she vies for more collegiate opportunities and team success.
