Kaniya Perkins and Takevia Sashington consider themselves a tandem for West Side.

“This is a duo,” Sashington said. “If I don’t get it, I know she’s going to get it. If I can’t do it, I’m going to pass it to her, and she’s going to do it.”

Perkins put it simply.

“We work together,” she said.

Indeed, each is a senior forward/center, and they often interchange positions. But the 6-foot Perkins and the 5-9 Sashington, both two-year starters, are also captains, along with senior guard Kaylah Williams, attempting to lay a foundation to return the Cougars (4-9) to a place of prominence under first-year coach and former star player Angela Hamblin-Blakely. She’s the program’s third coach in two seasons.

“One of the things I wanted to do coming in here was change the culture,” Hamblin-Blakely said. “Those two young ladies, along with one of my other seniors, Kaylah, have been very instrumental in establishing another culture here.

“In particular, Takevia, I had the girls vote for who they wanted to be their captain, and overwhelmingly, all of them voted for Takevia. She has been such an example in the hallways, on the floor. She works very hard. She wants to improve. She’s upset when she doesn’t do what she’s supposed to do. She’s been great. I’m going to hate to see her leave.”

Hamblin-Blakely noted Sashington, whom she described as the “lead captain,” couldn’t attend the game against East Chicago Central last week, and West Side “missed her big time.”

Perkins has had a similar effect on the Cougars, who went into their game against Marquette on Friday having already surpassed their win total from last season.

“Along the same lines, we had a team meeting earlier, and one of the things the girls were saying is that they look up to our seniors, including Kaniya,” Hamblin-Blakely said.

“Kaniya is still learning. She’s still learning how to play the game. She wants to do better. She wants to be successful. She has really grown into her position. She’s been following behind Takevia a little bit, but she’s been right there. She’s really been phenomenal.”

Perkins and Sashington have taken their responsibilities as role models seriously.

“I’m just trying to work hard and give everything I have,” Sashington said. “Any tips our coaches give us, whatever blueprint our coaches set out for us, I’m trying to follow it. I just want to go out there and play hard. This is our last year, so we have to give it our all.

“We also want to set the standards higher here. We’re trying to build a legacy to leave behind for our teammates to make sure they get better. We’re trying to bring it back.”

Sashington and Perkins are aware of West Side’s history and tradition, not all that far removed from significant success.

“We try to make sure we have a good attitude,” Perkins said. “We’re trying to help our younger players.

“We’re trying to take what the coaches give us because we do have good coaches. I don’t want to take them for granted. This is our last year here, and we’re trying to take everything in. We’re trying to uplift our teammates because they’re going to be here after us, and we want to leave memories behind for them to take after us.”

Although Sashington and Perkins have much in common, their paths have varied. After two-plus years at North Chicago Community High School in Illinois, Perkins transferred to West Side in October of her junior year.

“It was a lot to take on at first,” Perkins said. “But a lot of my teammates helped me adjust to everything. Our old coaches from last year and coach Blakely have helped a lot too.”

Perkins believes she’s expanded her game at West Side.

“The coaches here helped me on my skills because my freshman and sophomore years, there was no development,” she said. “I’m tall, and my coaches based everything off my height and told me to just jump and get the ball and put it back up. I never had any real skills until I came here.”

Sashington has been a mainstay at West Side for four years, with rebounding being a consistent strength. But she started to turn a corner last season, and she has risen to another level this season.

“Junior year, the confidence level was getting there, and senior year, that’s when the confidence really happened,” Sashington said. “My confidence grew. The vision, having game IQ, I learned more.

“Junior year, I could not do too much. I would be scared. I’d pass it back out or just hold the ball up. But now I’m more advanced where I can take it and make moves.”

Sashington also has competed in cross country since her sophomore year. She was a sprinter for the girls track team last spring, but she suffered a right ankle injury, for which she still wears a brace, and was out for the postseason. She aims to participate in both track and softball this spring.

Sashington hopes to play basketball at a historically Black college or university, and prepare to become a teacher.

Perkins, who plans to join West Side’s girls track team this spring as a high jumper and long jumper, has been focusing on attending Memphis.

She intends to study to become a dermatologist and would like to play basketball overseas.

Both Perkins and Sashington are confident the Cougars are moving in the right direction under Hamblin-Blakely, a 1994 Indiana All-Star at Lew Wallace who finished third in Miss Basketball voting. Hamblin-Blakely is an Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer, is a former all-conference pick and team captain at Iowa, and played in the WNBA.

“We’ve developed more than we did last year,” Sashington said. “We understand more than we did. Our coaching staff has helped us to get to this level. We have a better opportunity to win more games this season than we did last year.

“Her experience has rubbed off on us. She’s doing a great job, which is where the development has come into play.”

Perkins has a similar perspective.

“I came here last year and experienced a lot of different coaches,” she said. “She’s one of the top coaches because she really takes time to understand you individually, and it helps you impact the game.

“It’s been challenging this year, but I feel like we’ve made a lot of progress from last year. I’m very proud of that.”