When it comes to both basketball and life, Jada Mills has watched her younger sister, Aubrey Pollard, come full circle.

“When she was younger, Aubrey was playing basketball for fun,” recalled the elder sister. “In elementary and middle school, she started getting really good in basketball.

“She started working with a trainer two or three times a week. Her level of competitiveness increased, and she started investing more in herself. Aubrey was always kind of shy and quiet, and basketball helped her become more social and believe in herself.

“She turned out to be the best athlete in the family.”

The Northern Lehigh basketball faithful certainly have witnessed plenty of evidence to support that claim.

Pollard was recently named the 2023-24 Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year after guiding her team to a 17-11 record, a District 11 runner-up finish, and a PIAA State Tournament opening round victory.

In the process, the senior surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for her career - finishing with 1,426 career points.

Pollard, who recently was named MVP and Scholar-Athlete of the Lehigh Valley Senior All-Star Basketball Classic, announced recently that she will continue her basketball and academic careers at DeSales University where she will pursue a career as physician’s assistant.

“It feels good to have all of my hard work acknowledged,” said Pollard. “I put in a lot of time, so it’s great to have it noticed. I’m also proud of getting into the merging health program during my senior year at Northern Lehigh, which helped me get into the accelerated physician assistant program at DeSales.

“I feel blessed with all my hard work was rewarded. I know I have given 100%, and that I will continue to do it.”

Pollard said she began to take a serious approach to basketball in her eighth- and ninth-grade years.

“I started playing basketball just for the fun of it,” recalled Pollard. “But I eventually started to become more competitive with the sport - that’s when I understood that I would have to begin to work harder as well.

“It was then that I knew I had to take stock in myself.”

Along with her own basketball epiphany, Pollard took advantage of a tremendous support system in her family. In addition to her sister Jada - who is four years older and also a former Northern Lehigh basketball player - there is brother Tyreek, who is six years older.

“My siblings and I were always very competitive with each other,” said Pollard. ‘I learned a lot from them, and they always have my back. They would watch me play and offer advice. My sister came to a lot of games.”

After her freshman year, Pollard opted for a change of scenery and transferred to Executive Education Academy (she scored 290 points there as a sophomore. However, it didn’t prove to be a comfortable fit, and Pollard was back at Northern Lehigh for her junior year..

“I thought it would be a good change for me with the diversity and the culture there,” she said. “But I had to come back. It wasn’t what I expected, and the academics weren’t as good.”

Back at Northern Lehigh, Pollard not only honed and developed her basketball skills, but also strived to excel in academics. She is currently ranked second in her class.

That combination has made her the model student-athlete.

“She always led by example, and worked hard to achieve success and greatness in everything,” said Bulldogs’ head coach Chris Heery. “She continued to improve every year.

“Aubrey took charge, and led us in scoring and rebounding. She was a big part of us getting to the second round of states.”

Through the years, Pollard has also run track and cross country - something that proved to be beneficial to her basketball career. She has also has managed to keep a sense of humor.

“It (cross country) helped with my conditioning for basketball,” she said. “It also was good for me to help me focus mentally. But I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t any physical contact involved.”

Pollard said that she will be spending time in the gym with her trainer, and playing in a basketball league at In the Zone in preparation for her freshman season at DeSales.

Older sister Jada sees Aubrey eventually making her mark in her new basketball home.

“Aubrey has managed to juggle her academics and sports throughout high school,” said Jada. “And I’m confident she will continue to do that in college. Aubrey will adjust to the new situation and do well there. Basketball comes very natural to her.”

With her high school basketball career now finished, Pollard will soon begin another basketball career at the college level - and is confident that hard work will help her continue the success she has enjoyed the last four seasons.