Iowa’s Kimora Celestine has mostly been in the shadows the last two high school basketball seasons, playing the less flashy roles that often go unnoticed.

But Celestine has come to the forefront for the Yellow Jackets this season.

“She likes doing all the stuff that nobody wants to do, like guarding to the best player, getting all the loose balls, going to get rebounds, stuff that usually doesn’t make the paper,” Iowa head coach Courtneé Hollins said. “She’s always been that player. I’ve heard that from other coaches. They’ve always known her to be that player.”

Over the summer, Hollins sat her down and discussed a broader, more visible role for her on a young, senior-less team, and the junior has turned herself into an all-round player.

“We had a talk that she was going to have to step up and score and be able to bring the ball up and just do a lot of things that she never had to do before,” Hollins said. “She really put in the work to become a better shooter, a ball handler, dribbler and the skill work that it’s going to take. You can tell just in a year’s time how much better she is at that.”

Celestine, a three-year starter, has helped fill the void left by the graduation of Jaya Gradney, who was Iowa’s lone senior last season and plays for Blinn (Texas) Junior College. Celestine averages 14 points and six rebounds a game. As of Friday, Iowa, a quarterfinalist last season, was ranked No. 2 in Non-select Division II.

“She didn’t even average many points last year, and the year before she didn’t either,” Hollins said. “She’s never been that player. Now she has stepped up.”

Celestine scored a season-high 21 points Thursday night to lead the Yellow Jackets to a 63-59 win over Oakdale, last season’s Non-select Division IV state runner-up, at the Hamilton Christian Showdown in the Lake. She added 25 points in a win over four-time defending state champion Lafayette Christian on Friday to lead the Yellow Jackets to a 64-61 win.

From the first day she took over the program last season, Hollins said she’s been impressed with Celestine’s aggressive play, allowing the guard to go head-to-head with post players. She scored eight points in the first quarter, absorbing a hard foul as she drove to the basket with 13 seconds left. She made the layup and free throw to put the Yellow Jackets up 18-8.

“She is just so aggressive and tough to do what she wants to do,” Hollins said. “When she makes her mind up to get to the rim, she gets to the rim.

“You have to foul her because she’s so aggressive. She’s not really big, but she’s so tough and she’s so aggressive. She has really nice moves right there around the rim to where she can still get a shot off around bigs, even though she’s smaller.”

Celestine has stayed true to her defensive roots while becoming more of a scorer. She held Oakdale’s Emani Young, who was a second-team all-state player last season, to 12 points.

“She’s pretty good on the defensive side,” Hollins said. “That’s what she’s always been good at. That’s kind of what her main role is. She guards the best player on the team.”