THE FRONT ROW WITH BRUCE BOURQUIN: March 14, 2014

Lakeland High senior Kelly Ramus not only got better this past season as a member of the Hawks' girls basketball team with her play, she improved as a leader as well, all while earning co-valedictorian honors.

RAMUS DROVE her Lakeland coaches a little nuts during some points during the 2012-13 season, when Ramus was a junior playing in her first varsity season in which Lakeland finished 12-12 overall, losing to Moscow in the 4A Region 1 championship game.

"They (her leadership qualities) developed quite a bit," said Hawks head coach Steve Seymour, who has known Ramus since she was in sixth grade. "Kelly by nature is soft-spoken, very polite, not one to speak loudly or be a vocally inspiring kind of leader. We asked her to do more this year and she did a wonderful job, leading by example. She's always one of the first kids in the gym and the last one out. She developed a quiet confidence over her career."

Ramus showed obvious talent, but at times was a bit too unselfish, passing the ball when Seymour wanted her to shoot it.

"Last year (during the 2012-13 season), she was hesitant, she second-guessed herself at times, she knew what she was capable of," said Seymour, who recently completed his 19th season as Lakeland coach. "At times, it was frustrating for her, frustrating for me ... I felt bad that maybe we were putting a little too much pressure on a really nice kid who maybe didn't realize just what her full athletic potential was."

ONCE RAMUS was told by Lakeland coaches to put up more shots, instead of following her instincts to pass the ball and make other teammates better, things more or less clicked this season. Ramus led the Hawks with 10 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

For her efforts, Ramus was selected to play in the 11th annual Idaho high school all-star girls basketball game, set for Saturday at 1 p.m. at Rolly Williams Court on the North Idaho College campus. She also plans to compete in the 3-point contest between the girls' and boys' games.

"The coaches realized it (Ramus' talents) and I would say the most impressive thing is how much of that self-confidence she's overcome," Seymour said. "There were times this year where she reverted back to the old Kelly, deer in the headlights at times, where she'd travel or catch the ball and be wide open and want to pass to somebody who was double-teamed. She just doesn't have a selfish bone in her body. There was some discussion about how we told her, 'You need to shoot, it's not being selfish. You are that good and in order for us to be competitive, you might have to shoot it more times in a game than you ever have and you're capable of making most of them.' It seemed like early in the season in practice, the coaching staff said 'Wow, she's getting it' ... and then she just relaxed and played and when she did, she played really well."

Ramus got the message from Seymour to step up and be more aggressive on the court.

"You'd think there'd be some pressure," Ramus said. "But coach Seymour and I had a lot of talks about how he wanted me to play for myself and play for the team and do my best. So there wasn't too much pressure. We'd just go out there and do our best and whatever happens, happens."

ONE OF Ramus' goals is to earn her medical degree and eventually become a general surgeon.

"I'm thinking about going to the University of Idaho and majoring in material science and engineering," Ramus said. "Then hopefully after that, I'm hoping to transfer to a university that has a biomedical engineering school. It's not a very popular major, not many schools have it, but it's exactly what I want to do. So hopefully I can find a school that has that and finish there and maybe go to medical school."

Ramus, who earned a 4.0 GPA is one of two Lakeland High students who is a valedictorian. She took an honors biology class, along with dual enrollment courses at NIC. Ramus also recently earned a $200 scholarship from the Lakeland Distinguished Young Women program.

Ramus, who was born in Manteca, Calif., and whose family moved to Rathdrum when she was 6, looks up to her older brothers. Kevin, 26, is set to earn his Master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Idaho. Brian, 22, works as an electrician and is in the Army reserves. Darrel, her father, is a surveyor with Ruen-Yeager and Associates and her mother, Kim, is a secretary with LAM Christian Academy, both of which are located in Coeur d'Alene.

IN THE semifinals of the 4A Region 1 tournament at NIC, Ramus was a key cog in helping No. 3 seed Lakeland upset No. 2 seed Moscow, 52-42. Ramus scored 12 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.

"That was such a fun game," Ramus said. "We all played so well as a team and we were all working together, it was awesome."

Lakeland's season ended at 4-18 with a 63-47 loss to Sandpoint at NIC in the regional championship. In that game, Ramus scored 14 points.

"Toward the middle end of this past season, she played her best basketball of her career," Seymour said. "I can't think of any kids who exhibited as much growth as she did."

RAMUS WAS also a team captain as an outside hitter on the volleyball team and she will compete in the 400-meter dash and the long jump during track and field season this spring.

"Kelly is a great kid," Seymour said. "She never complained, never made an excuse. When we were being pretty hard on her, she smiled and nodded her head and did the best she could. I couldn't have been more pleased with how she played her senior year. I think it (being selected to play in the all-star game) is a great reward for a very deserving kid. I hope she enjoys the experience. She has the talent to pursue (playing at) the next level, but she made up her mind, sports after high school will be played at the play intramural level and she'll focus on her studies."

Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013, or via email at bbourquin@cdapress.com Follow him on Twitter @bourq25