Each season, Gatorade recognizes one student-athlete from each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. who embodies its Player of the Year program’s three pillars: athletic production, academic achievement and exemplary character.

Each week during its Gatorade State Player of the Year selection process, USA TODAY surfaces one candidate who meets those criteria and deserves recognition as a serious Gatorade State Player of the Year contender.

Name: Shandiin Armao

School: Winslow (Ariz.)

Sport: Girls Basketball

Class: Senior

Athletic Production: No one values high school basketball more than the Navajo nation. The sport has been absorbed into the Navajo culture, and “Rez Ball” routinely draws huge crowds to high school gyms that are often bigger than some college facilities. And no Navajo prep player values a basketball more than Shandiin Armao.

The senior is an energetic and fierce rebounder, determined to grab every available miss. At just 5-foot-9, she is the best inch-for-inch rebounder in Arizona, collecting 13.9 boards a game—tops in the state, according to MaxPreps’ leaderboard. Armao also averaged 18.8 points, 3.2 steals and 1.6 steals per game this past season, leading the Bulldogs (28-5) to the Division 3 state semifinals.

A two-time First Team All-State selection as named by The Arizona Republic, Armao has also captured First Team All-Area honors from the Navajo Times for three straight seasons.

Of course, Armao could value basketball for more than just cultural reasons. Without it, she may not have been born. Her father, a Philadelphia-raised doctor, and her Navajo mother first met over a game of roundball in Winslow.

Academic Achievement: Armao has maintained a straight-A average and ranks second in her graduating class.

Exemplary Character: Also a talented artist, Armao serves in her school’s student council, has volunteered as an elementary school mentor and donates her time to a local animal shelter.