Washington’s Kelby Beller & Preslee Johnson
Kelby Dawn Beller and Preslee Johnson are seniors at Washington High School who have a long history of playing basketball together. Their journey started in elementary school, making them a strong duo on the court.
Beller is a point guard and Johnson is a shooting guard. Beller enjoys creating shots for her teammates, while Johnson looks forward to getting passes from the inside out to the corner for 3-point shots.
“Being a point guard for Coach Simon is not easy, but I absolutely love the pressure, because it’s a privilege,” Beller says.
Reading one another on the court is a strength that Beller and Johnson use to their advantage in games.
“We know how to play with each other. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and we’re always trying to make each other better in practice,” Beller said.
Johnson is equally impressed with Beller in action.
“Kelby is a very fast-paced point guard! I can always count on her to attack the rim and find me for an open shot!” Johnson praised.
When asked to give one word describing each other on the court, Beller calls Johnson a shooter. The best word describing Beller is “competitive,” according to Johnson.
A core memory for Johnson of playing with Beller is winning state together as juniors. Beller says her best memory is freshman year when they won the area championship against Luther. This win put them in the state tournament.
“We both jumped into each other’s arms and were so excited that we had made it to state!” Beller exclaimed.
These two don’t just admire one another on the court. Beller says Johnson is super funny and is also a really good singer. Johnson, on the other hand, loves that Beller is always “down to make a TikTok!”
Being a basketball player is a natural progression for Beller. Her mom is the assistant basketball coach at WHS. At an early age, Beller was a water girl who looked forward to being on the team. She plans to play basketball for Southwestern Oklahoma State University and become a teacher and a coach.
Johnson also grew up in a basketball family, saying she practically grew up in the gym. After high school, Johnson also plans to play basketball at the next level and earn her degree in Early Childhood Education.
