The King’s Fork High School girls’ basketball team has continued its legacy of success, and often the edge of the tooth in the Lady Bulldogs’ bite this season was sophomore guard Cydney Nichols.

Her strong performances in the recent Ironclad Conference tournament championship and the opening round of the regional tournament led to her becoming the Duke Automotive-Suffolk News-Herald Player of the Week.

Nichols produced a team-high 12 points and added five steals on March 2 to help King’s Fork repeat as conference tournament champions with a 46-33 win on its home court against Heritage High School.

And though the Lady Bulldogs suffered a heart-rending 63-62 opening-round regional loss on March 3 to visiting Midlothian High School, the eventual Group 4A state runner-up, her 18 points showed the kind of threat she is offensively.

“I felt pretty good,” Nichols said of her performances that week. Remembering what postseason play was like as freshman, including her team’s early regional exit, she added, “I was really excited to play.”

Her appetite for postseason wins has grown exponentially after the Midlothian game.

“We could have gone all the way this season, if we had just had 30 more seconds left,” she said.

Reflecting on Nichols’ play during the last week of his team’s postseason run, Lady Bulldogs coach Maurice Fofana said, “I think her performance was great. It’s kind of what she’s been doing throughout the season.”

She has been a consistent threat, averaging 16.5 points and five steals per game during the regular season, leading to a first team all-conference honor.

Nichols had difficulty pinpointing what she felt was her unique contribution to her team, but eventually said, “I’m going to go with my speed.”

Fofana said this year he felt she brought “just overall, the hard play.”

Nichols’ speed and athleticism have served her well in more than just basketball, as she has also played varsity volleyball for the past two years and is about to start her second year of varsity soccer.

She was a first team all-conference selection as a volleyball player this year.

Her impact as a King’s Fork athlete was already substantial during her freshman year when, in basketball, she made the all-conference second team amid a talented field.

Then, in soccer, she made the all-conference first team, received a regional honorable mention and also earned a Duke Automotive-Suffolk News-Herald Player of the Week honor.

She got an early introduction to basketball, and sports in general courtesy of her father. She said they would play around in the backyard, “and I just fell in love with playing sports.”

Nichols said she got her start with hoops when she was only 4 years old, playing at a local YMCA. She played Upward Basketball for a few years after that, and then played Amateur Athletic Union basketball from ages 11 to 14.

“When I played AAU, I’ve always played (competition) a year older than I was,” she said, citing that as a reason why she has been a key contributor on the hardwood for King’s Fork even as an underclassman.

She played in sixth and seventh grade at King’s Fork Middle School and spent eighth grade on the King’s Fork junior varsity squad.

Fofana said he was pleased to see the improvement in her jump shot.

“It was much stronger than her freshman year,” he said.

He is looking forward to her continued development this summer.