Ware County High School senior Daejha White is an all-around honor student-athlete, playing volleyball and basketball for the Lady Gators while holding a 3.5 grade point average in the classroom.
“She does well academically, which in turn helps on the court,” said Ware County Girls basketball coach Mandy Lingenfelter. “She has a great knowledge of the game.”
In the winter, White is a center and forward on the Lady Gators’ basketball team. She was one of the region’s top post players in 2012-2013. By her junior year, she was Second Team All-Region and was awarded for grabbing the most rebounds.
In the fall, she is an outside and middle hitter for the volleyball team, where she was named the team’s Most Improved Player her sophomore year. By her junior season, she was First Team All-Region. She was also voted the Gators’ best offensive player and set a school record for most kills in a single game.
At 5’10”, “Daye Daye,” as friends call her, has the height for both sports. She also possesses good hand and eye coordination, footwork, balance, speed, and agility. Coach Lingenfelter has watched White improve over the past four years and says she adds a great presence inside and has the abilities to rebound, block shots, and score in the paint. She was awarded the Most Improved Player plaque for the Lady Gators and attended basketball camp at Reinhardt, where she received the All-Star medal. Unfortunately, White tore her anterior cruciate ligament in the region tournament at the end of last season.
“She had 19 points, 17 rebounds, and shot 71 percent from the free throw line before she went down with the ACL tear,” Coach Lingenfelter said.
She recovered from the knee injury, but has been limited in action this season since being medically cleared to play. Georgia College is heavily recruiting White, and her coach says she has the skills to play at the next level.
She trains in both sports year-round but gets help with basketball from her family including her parents, Carlos and Chenille 
White, who make sure she is a student first and an athlete second. “They provide a lot of motivation for me,” she said.
“They always tell me to thank God for the talents that He has blessed me with that have provided an opportunity for a great future.”
She also gets help from her brothers, Darien “Dee” White, who is now a freshman at Columbus State University and a former Ware County Gator, and younger brother Dominique, who works with her on ways to improve her game beyond being just a post player.
She started playing recreation league basketball at eight years old.
“I can remember not being able to dribble,” she said. “I was called for several traveling fouls until I learned how to play.”
She played in middle school and continued to build her skills, learning ball-handling and rebounding. In high school, White got her first start her freshman year and has steadily improved during her high school career.
“I went to high school, I was placed on the varsity girls basketball team and have been a starter since my ninth grade year,” she said.
By her sophomore year she was playing more aggressively and was dominating the boards and putting up triple-double games. She recalls being in a do-or-die situation against the Glynn Academy Red Terrors in a region tournament game.
“A teammate shot the ball and missed, and I was able to rebound and score with one-tenth of a second left,” she said. “We won the game by one point.”
White’s favorite part of the game is the way the team comes together to build momentum.
“The momentum serves as an adrenaline rush, not only for the players, but the crowd as well,” she said.
She started playing volleyball her freshman year and made it to the varsity the following season. She started as an outside hitter but moved to middle hitter.
“My stats started going up tremendously. I broke our school record for the most kills in a single game and made it on the Wall of Fame,” she said.
With the little time she has away from school, studies and practices, White attends church and assists with the ministry. She is an ordinary teenage girl who enjoys shopping and watching “SpongeBob SquarePants.” White is a member of the National Honor Society, successfully completed the graduation test in 11th grade, and completed an advanced placement course in psychology. A member of the A/B honor roll, she is still unsure of where she will attend college, but she would like to major in social work so that she can become a licensed clinical social worker.
SE-AA-0215-White
Academic Athlete
Daejha White
Ware County High School
By Rob Asbell
Lady Gator Rules the Courts and Classroom
