Monette Bolden: Rare athlete for Erath High

ERATH - A Monette Bolden type of player does not grace the basketball court too often at Erath High School.
Bolden is a 5-foot-5 junior point guard for the Erath Lady Bobcats (24-4). Despite only starting two seasons (this year and last year), Bolden is already being talked about as being one of the top five girl basketball players to ever play at Erath High.
This year she is averaging 19 points per game, six assists and three rebounds a game. Last year she averaged 12 points a game.
In two years of starting, she has scored just over 700 points.
So, who is Monette and where did she fall from and into Erath’s hands?
Bolden arrived at Erath her freshman year. She moved in with her father and her step mother, who were living in Erath.
Prior to that, Bolden lived with her mother and went to J. H. Williams Middle School in Abbeville. She played her first organized basketball game her seventh grade year at the middle school. She fell in love with the sport after watching Brittney Griner playing at Baylor University four years ago.
Bolden said the reason she left Abbeville is because she wanted a new atmosphere.
“I was looking for something better,” said Bolden. “I knew a couple of girls from Erath’s basketball team, so I thought I would go live with my dad.”
It turned out to be a good move for her and for Erath.
In the classroom, Bolden went from being an average student, getting by with a C average, to making her first 4.0 grade point average this past nine weeks.
Erath head coach Andrea Bernard saw talent when she saw Bolden on the basketball court for the first time.
“She was raw, but she had the talent,” said Bernard.
Her sophomore year was a learning year for her, her teammates and her head coach Andrea Bernard. Everyone had to fill each other out.
It worked because this year Bolden is a lot better than that last year. Her skills on the court and off court have improved. She also knows who to give the credit to for her improvements.
“It is all my teammates,” said Bolden. “They bring the best out in me. They make me give 110 percent every time I am on the court or in the classroom.”
Bernard said Bolden has matured over the last year and is a different player from a year ago.
“She is a completely different player,” said Bernard. Her attitude is much better. She is taking on leadership roles. Just in the last few games, she has become a leader. She is talking to her teammates and encouraging her teammates.”
Two weeks ago against E.D. White, Bolden fouled out in the fourth quarter. As a sophomore, had she fouled out, Bolden would have gotten upset with herself and not said much on the bench. Instead, this time she became the cheerleader and the coach on the bench.
“She wanted to help her team. She did not come to the bench and give up,” said Bernard. “She was a big part as to why we were able to win that game from the bench.”
That’s all Bolden wants to do, help her team win no matter if it is on the floor or on the bench.