Sophomore Journey Houston leading way for young Davenport North club

By Ryan Timmerman 

DAVENPORT— Journey Houston isn’t here for any excuses.

Despite having just three seniors on the roster and being led in scoring by two sophomores and a freshman, Houston and the Class 5A fifth-ranked Davenport North Wildcats girls’ basketball team are hungry to make their presence known when tournament time rolls around.

North sits at 16-2 overall and 13-2 within the Mississippi Athletic Conference, with its only two losses coming against 5A top-ranked — and unbeaten — MAC rival Pleasant Valley. 

“We felt some pressure (coming into this season) because last year didn’t go the way we had originally planned,” said the sophomore Houston. “This year, we came in with a different mindset, and that has really helped us.

“I’ve played up since I was little. Playing against bigger and stronger girls has always made me want to get better and work harder. That’s really helped me now that I’m playing against more girls my age.”

The Spartans beat North 31-29 in the first meeting on Dec. 6 and 55-46 on Jan. 20.

“That first game (against PV) was kind of the stinker for us offensively, but we feel like we were right there. We had the lead in the second half, despite only scoring four points in the first half," North head coach Paul Rucker said. "Against a team like that, that’s huge. In the second game, we got on a good run and had it at 45-40, but we made a couple of mental errors and couldn’t sustain it.

“This year, those still happen, but we’re quicker to correct it and turn it around. Last year, we had a few games slide away because of those mental errors. But this year, we’re finding ways to win games even when we don’t play up to our capabilities.”

Houston is averaging 18.3 points per game this season while shooting 57.7 percent from the field (both numbers rank second in the MAC to Pleasant Valley senior Halle Vice, a Marquette University commit) to go with 9.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists, which both rank in the top five within the conference, and she’s leading the league in steals at 4.1 a game.

Though her stats are down slightly from her second-team all-state performance last winter, Houston will gladly sacrifice the numbers for the increase in team success. With North running roughshod on every opponent except PV, Houston has spent considerably more time rooting on North’s reserve unit late in games, which is the primary cause for the modest decrease in stats.

In 2021-22, the Wildcats recovered from an 0-6 start to finish 12-10. But after being ousted in the quarterfinals of the 5A regionals by Iowa City Liberty, 48-44, Houston and the Wildcats entered this season hungry for more.

There was already much to build on after Houston turned in a first-team all-conference campaign as a freshman. She was the MAC’s only player to average over 20 points a game as she ended her first varsity season averaging a double-double at 20.9 points and 10.6 rebounds, plus chipped in 3.5 steals.

“We knew we would have eyes on us this season because we’re so young but have succeeded in a lot of ways,” she said. “It means a lot for us to get to this point and see the reward for the work we’ve put in.”

Houston is already nearing 800 career points for her career, and she’s received recruiting attention from Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan and DePaul, among other Division I programs. The Hawkeyes and Cyclones both made offers in July of 2021. The Blue Demons did the same a year later.

The 5-foot-11 Houston is shining in the spotlight after watching her older siblings excel on the hardwood for North.

She also recognizes that she’d be in a far less desirable position if not for her teammates.

Classmate Divine Bourrage has been Houston’s running mate long before the varsity level. Bourrage is having a remarkable season in her own right, averaging 13.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.8 steals. As recruits, Houston and Bourrage are both ranked nationally by various outlets within the Class of 2025.

“I love the environment and people I’m around here,” said Houston, who also plays volleyball and does track and field at North. “That makes everything that much better. I’ve been playing it since I was a little girl.

“Chemistry is very important out on the court. You can go out there and have a whole bunch of talent, but it’s helped having played with a lot of these girls for a long time already.”

In 2022-23, North has supplemented the dynamic duo with freshman Alyvia McCorkle, who is averaging double figures in scoring for the Wildcats. The leading upperclassmen are senior Mariah Thompson and junior Kyra Taylor, who both average around eight points a game.

“It takes a while to get some things formulated within the program when you don’t have the juniors and seniors to allow (the underclassmen) to learn slowly. They got thrown right into the fire. That’s been a whole different dynamic.”

With the 5A regional pairings due out in the coming week, Houston envisions leading North back to the state tournament for the first time since 2016, when Jinaya led North to its first and only state appearance on the girls' side while Jayden led the boys' program to state in 4A to close the 2019-20 season.

“Growing up, I knew I wanted to play at a high level and do well on varsity,” said the youngest of the Houston kids. “Now that I’m on varsity, all eyes are on me, and that pushes me. I’m in the gym every day making sure I’m doing what I need to, and hopefully, I’ll be able to play at the next level, too.”

All three Houston siblings garnered all-state recognition while at North.

“I feel like I’ve grown up around this program, so finally having a chance to make a name for myself means a lot,” said the Wildcat sophomore. “I’m doing the best I can to make sure this program succeeds going forward.”

Whether the Wildcats can make it to the 2022-23 or not, Houston and the youthful Wildcats figure to be a force in 5A for years to come.

“This type of situation doesn’t happen very often,” North head coach Paul Rucker said. “Usually, the really good programs have a lot of upperclassmen to lead the way and show the younger kids the way. But with Journey and Divine, along with some other young kids, sometimes we’re running with four sophomores or three of them with a freshman on the court.”

“We’re really young, but after a year of it already, we’re a little more mature this year. There’s a way to go, but still really, really young, and that bodes well for the future.”