Girls Basketball: Guard Aniyá Foy authoring record-setting senior season for Cinco Ranch
A longtime admirer of Michael Jordan, the Kansas State signee is becoming a G.O.A.T in her own right as Cinco Ranch's all-time scoring leader
Aniyá Foy is not one for the M.J.-versus-LeBron G.O.A.T debate.
There is no question in her mind who stands as basketball’s greatest of all time.
“That’s why I wear 23, because of him,” the Cinco Ranch senior wing said of Michael Jordan, her favorite player. “He has a lot of grit. He’s going to show you who he is. He knows when to make a move, when not to make a move. I really like the way he thinks. He’s just him. He’s my G.O.A.T.”
Takes one to know one.
Foy recently became a legend in her own right, etching her name into Cougars history with 24 points in a 69-42 win over Mayde Creek on Dec. 20. On her first basket of the game, the Kansas State signee, ranked 46th nationally in the Class of 2025 by ESPN, became Cinco Ranch’s all-time leading scorer, with many more buckets still to come.
Foy has 2,220 career points with nine games left in the regular season. She broke the previous mark of 2,196 set by Stefanie Gilbreath, class of 2007.
Foy entered the Mayde Creek game tied with Gilbreath for the record. It didn’t take long to assume full ownership.
Not even a minute into the first quarter, Foy took a hard dribble to her right, pulled up and drilled a jump shot for points Nos. 2,197 and 2,198.
“It means a lot,” said Foy, who is averaging 20.7 points per game over her varsity career. “It’s been one of my biggest goals since my freshman year. It’s something I’ve been wanting to accomplish, and the time finally came.”
A varsity starter since that freshman campaign, Foy has always had lofty goals, “knowing what I’m capable of.” She is reserved in nature, and even has a goofy side, but boasts an undeniable confidence and self-assuredness on the court.
Foy already held the program’s single-game scoring record with 42 points against Fort Bend Travis on Nov. 12, besting Gilbreath’s mark of 36.
“I always wanted to make a name for myself, and to be able to have this platform means a lot,” Foy said. “It’s a really big legacy to leave behind.”
Foy’s signature bucket came with Gilbreath in attendance.
Gilbreath, who played at USC, watched Foy make seven of 14 shots, including three of five 3s, and all seven free throws, and then gracefully participated in the team’s celebration in the locker room afterward.
“It was really cool,” Foy said. “I didn’t expect her to come that day and I was really excited to see her. I spoke with her earlier this year. We had a good talk and she said she’d come out sometime. She ended up watching and witnessing history. It was a really good time.”
Afterward, Gilbreath shared a few words with Foy, congratulating and encouraging her to keep doing big things.
Gilbreath told Foy how proud of her she was.
“It took 20 years for someone to take her spot,” Foy said. “She held it down for a long time.”
Not long after kindergarten, Foy mastered her first move: the in-between crossover. That evolved into a cross jab step, her favorite option in a diverse arsenal that she learned by watching the Memphis Grizzles’ Ja Morant.
Since then, her game has flourished more and more.
A 6-foot, physical guard, Foy has added a more consistent post game this season. She’s working to master a spin-move fade into a jump shot.
She’s also trying the “pick-up” step in transition, a difficult finish at the basket. Take a dribble, take the ball all the way up off one arm and finish with a layup. It’s a tough maneuver in which all of her momentum is toward the basket, so Foy has to know how to plant and take her other foot around the defender’s foot to finish with the right hand.
Ever since her freshman year, Foy has been a technician of the game.
She watches a lot of film. One game’s worth of tape often consists of two study sessions, one which Foy focuses on herself and her own play, and another in which she only watches the opposing defense and her team.
“Details are so important,” she said. “They can really elevate your game. There are so many ways you can score effectively, even when you’re not playing with the ball in your hands.”
When she’s not analyzing her own games, Foy watches a lot of college and pro basketball. Some of her favorites to study are Kevin Durant, A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum.
“Those levels, dribbling isn’t as effective, so you learn how to move without needing but one or two dribbles,” Foy said. “Film is my best friend.”
Foy has hooped since she was five years old. It wasn’t always as easy as she can oftentimes make it look.
“I didn’t know what I was doing at first,” she said, laughing. “I was running the basketball like a football. But once I started to understand the game more and keep having fun with it, I started to fall in love with it. I realized I was pretty good as I started getting older.”
Under the guidance and mentorship of her father Richard, who runs a basketball training facility and attends every one of his daughter’s games, Foy worked tirelessly to get better and better.
Progress came fast.
Foy knew as early as sixth grade that basketball could be her ticket to bigger and better things. At West Memorial Junior High, she once scored 47 points in a game.
“Basketball’s been something that’s been by my side throughout my life,” Foy said. “I’m really thankful I found something I can enjoy doing and get better at every single day.”
This season, Foy is playing exclusively off the ball for the first time in her career under first-year Cinco Ranch coach LeVar Brown.
“I exert less energy,” Foy said. “I’m a catch-and-go player. On the catch, I can easily rip my defender off the first step. I can also help my teammates off the ball, too, whether it’s setting a screen or a slip or a backdoor. It’s just a lot easier on my end, and I feel like I’m just as effective without the ball as I am with the ball.”
It’s paying off.
Not only is Foy averaging a career-best 24.7 points per game to go with 7.1 rebounds, 3.4 steals and 2.1 assists, while shooting 53% from the field, Cinco Ranch is 16-5 overall, and a half-game ahead in first place in District 19-6A at 6-1.
The Cougars, who last won a district championship in 2008-09, are already two wins shy of matching last year’s total.
“I don’t really have any more personal goals,” Foy said. “I’m just going out to play. The biggest thing for me right now is to win district for my team. It’s my biggest focus.”