MCC student athlete feature: Mykah Anderson

Wednesday, May 4, 2023 - 11:00 pm | Dylan DeVlieger

Mesa Community College standout guard Mykah Anderson had a historic run in her two seasons as a Thunderbird, earning multiple awards and a Region I DII championship.

Basketball was not Anderson's main sport of focus until around 8th grade. Up until then, she had been splitting her attention between dance and gymnastics, but with the influence of two of her brothers, basketball grew in her heart.

Anderson went to Chandler High School from 2016-2020, and played on the varsity basketball team all four seasons. 

Anderson may have been at a disadvantage due to her size compared to some of the older players she played against, at least in her freshman year.

Over time, Anderson evolved a "nobody can beat me," mindset which helped fuel her to success. In her time at CHS, Anderson would average 10.6 points, 2.4 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.8 steals per game. 

After Anderson's  time at CHS, she would commit to Idaho State University to begin her collegiate basketball career. 

Anderson experienced culture shock when attending ISU. 

Anderson transferred to Mesa Community College after coming out of lockdown from COVID-19, not being able to play the sport she loved for so long, and not being a traditional student due to restrictions caused by the pandemic.

Anderson wanted to attend a school that had a winning culture, but was also right in her backyard. This made MCC a perfect fit for her. 

Head coach Kori Stephenson has built MCC women's basketball into a Regional powerhouse since she took over the program in 2006..

Stephenson has had a large impact on Anderson and has helped her improve as a basketball player as well as a person. 

Stephenson has helped Anderson, as any coach would, on the floor to keep her passes crisp, her shot clean, and her game under control. 

Stephenson has also gone above and beyond to help Anderson keep a positive mindset in life and change things that may be negative into positive.

In Anderson's freshman season at MCC, she averaged 10.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game as she and the Lady T-Birds won the 2021-22 NJCAA Region I DII championship. 

In Anderson's sophomore year, she averaged 13.1 points, 4.6 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game. 

Anderson credits her leap from her freshman to sophomore year to connecting more with her religious faith. 

A couple of teammates peaked Anderson's interest in being more sound with God, after Anderson had a feeling this was the step she should take in life. Her and teammates would set up bible study sessions and connect with their faith which Anderson believes has helped her as a person.

"It gave me a positive outlook on things, it helped me be a better teammate and friend and a better person in life, it helped me turn a new leaf," said Anderson.

Anderson and her team came up short of their quest for back-to-back Region I DII titles this season as they lost to Scottsdale Community College in the postseason semi-finals. For Anderson, the loss stung more due to her feeling as though she did not finish what she had started.

"Being part of Mesa we like to win, we had a winning record both times I've been here and we won the Region title my freshman year so it was like my sophomore year I had the mindset of finishing what I started," said Anderson, "last year we won regionals and the next step was to go th nationals and win something so it hit me hard."

In her time as an athlete, Anderson has had many teammates, but the teams she shared the court with at MCC in her two years were special, it was always a team effort when they laced them up as they wanted everyone to be successful.

"I've never had an experience or been a part of a team like this before, everyone was really easy to get along with. We just wanted to win together and see each other succeed, especially the coaching staff. We won a lot which is a blessing," said Anderson. 

After her sophomore campaign at MCC, Anderson would earn a multitude of awards as she was named the ACCAC DII Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, was named to the All-ACCAC 2nd team, as well as the All-Region I DII 1st team. Anderson also earned a spot on the NJCAA All-American 2nd team.

This story is original content of "The Mesa Legend" newspaper.