Athletic ability runs strongly in the Twisdale family, and Suffolk Christian Academy junior Victoria Twisdale is further proof.

She has not played basketball in four years but decided to play for the Lady Knights this season and has turned into an instant team leader.

Twisdale poured in 20 points and 13 rebounds in Suffolk Christian’s season opener on Nov. 19 to give her team a 49-22 home win over Alliance Christian Academy.

The breakout performance led to her claiming the title of Duke Automotive-Suffolk News-Herald Player of the Week.

“I felt that I did pretty good,” Twisdale said of her play against Alliance. “My team really helped me out,” including giving her good passes and encouragement.

In the Lady Knights’ second game of the season the following week, they lost 60-58 at home, but Twisdale remained strong offensively, producing 22 points.

As for why she’s been able to be so productive on the court thus far, she said, “I don’t really know, because I haven’t played basketball since I was 13, and that was only YMCA ball.”

Twisdale, now 17, noted she started playing hoops when she was 5 and continued for about nine years at a YMCA in Franklin.

She said she mainly played center, because she was always the tallest player on her team. For the Lady Knights, she plays down low at the forward position.

Describing his reaction to his daughter’s success on the hardwood, Pete Twisdale Sr. said, “I’ve been kind of surprised and not surprised.”

He noted she loves soccer, a sport in which she has been well established at Suffolk Christian, but he had not really seen her play basketball.

“I knew she definitely has some athletic abilities,” he said, like many in the family.

Victoria Twisdale said her maternal grandmother was a star basketball player in Windsor, averaging 20 points a game, and her paternal grandmother is known for her competitiveness. Twisdale’s aunt went to college on a basketball scholarship, and Twisdale’s dad was a multi-sport star.

Pete Twisdale Sr. was one of the top football players in the state of Virginia, said Wendy Twisdale, Victoria’s mother, adding that he had scholarship offers from many institutions, including Virginia Tech and Princeton University.

The Twisdale legacy has even been part of Suffolk Christian Academy’s history, as Victoria’s brother, Pete Twisdale Jr. was a standout basketball player for the school when it was known as First Baptist Christian, scoring 1,222 points over three years.

Now his sister is carrying on the family’s legacy of success.

“She’s got natural talent, you can tell,” Wendy Twisdale said. “It’s fun to watch.”

Victoria Twisdale said, “Mainly, I’ve had basketball all around my life, but I’ve tried to mostly play soccer.”

“One thing that we do before is we pray and we just ask Jesus to really help everybody on the court,” she said. “I just think of Him every time I play.”