Prep Girls Basketball Standout, Tianna Eaton Inducted to Rowland High School 'Hall of Fame'
This is the Year of Tianna Eaton! This week Rowland High School inducted its basketball standout to its Hall of Fame.
The Rowland High School girls basketball team will be remembered as the powerhouse that Tianna Eaton built.
At the center of it all was the do-it-all guard who averaged 19.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.1 steals and three blocks per games this past season to help Rowland finish 26-2 and advance to the Division 2AA semifinals, where it lost to Camarillo.
Rowland and Eaton never reached the championship game, but before Eaton arrived, Rowland hadn’t won a league title since 1988 and hadn’t reached the semifinals since 1979.
“It meant a lot to be able to make Rowland a more well-known (girls basketball) school,” Eaton said. “The students, along with the staff, are such great and supportive people. They constantly tell us how proud they are and it’s just great knowing we have such a great support system.”
It was an amazing two years for Eaton, who is headed to UC Riverside on a full scholarship after earning consecutive Valle Vista League Player of the Year awards and consecutive CIF-SS first team honors.
For her efforts, Eaton has been named the San Gabriel Valley Tribune girls basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, becoming the first player to earn back-to-back player of the year awards since Bonita’s Nikki Wheatley won it three consecutive years from 2012-14.
Eaton spent her freshman season at Diamond Ranch and sophomore year at Diamond Bar, where she didn’t play. She transferred to Rowland her junior season and Raiders coach Quentin Carr helped her develop a total game, particularly her dribbling, and the turnaround was astounding.
“I’ve transferred to quite a few schools,” Eaton admitted. “But out of all of the schools, coach Carr has been the one coach that has pushed me to be the best I can be. He has helped me grow as a player and an individual by trusting me with the responsibility of leading his team and I cannot thank him enough for that.”
Eaton helped the Raiders win two tournaments and was named MVP of both. In the Division 2AA quarterfinals, she helped lead the Raiders’ memorable comeback in a 53-52 victory over Walnut, finishing with 20 points.
And she did all she could in her final game as a senior, scoring a season-high 33 points with nine rebounds in a 70-55 semifinal loss to Camarillo, showing her competitive spirit.
Eaton said she will remember the final two games the most.
“My most memorable game was the game against Walnut,” Eaton said. “Although it wasn’t my best game, it was such a close and intense game and it was just one of those games you never forget. Coming out with the win made it even better.
“But I think my biggest accomplishment was scoring 33 points in my last game. We didn’t come out with the win but the other team all came and congratulated me and it honestly meant a lot. I had to end my high school career with a bang and I believe I did that.”