Buckingham County High School senior Jayda Chambers estimates that she started playing basketball when she was 5, and this fall, she answered on the promise she began showing back then when she committed to play at the next level for the University of Lynchburg.

“Ever since I was younger, I always thought about playing college basketball, and to actually be able to play, it really means a lot to me,” she said.

Lynchburg, a NCAA Division III school, drew Chambers’ verbal commitment Oct. 20.

“I did visit a couple other schools, but when I went to Lynchburg over the summer and started communicating with the coach then, and I went for an overnight visit, I just knew that was the right school for me,” she said. “I just really liked the coaches, the team, and I just loved the school, and I didn’t want to go really far away from home, so Lynchburg was a good distance, and I just fell in love with the school.”

Chambers has benefited from the degree to which family and basketball have been intertwined. She played recreational basketball in the county when she was young, then spent her eighth-grade year on the Buckingham junior varsity squad before spending every year since then on varsity, where, as of 2016, she has been coached by her mother, Lady Knights Head Coach Kelly Chambers.

The elder Chambers expressed excitement at her daughter’s college commitment.

“As a mother, I’m blessed to be able to be on this journey with her, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have a front row seat to her growth throughout the years, and it has just been a feeling that sometimes is indescribable,” Coach Chambers said. “You want your children to do well in life, and her on-the-court and off-the-court growth has just really been a blessing to see.”

Jayda is primarily a guard for the Lady Knights, but she noted that she moves around to different positions a lot, adding, “I play one through five.”

She said Hornets coaches have not yet notified her of how exactly they want to use her on the court, but she has confidence she will be featured significantly, even as a freshman.

“I think I’ll be playing quite a bit,” she said.

This will only intensify the excitement for her mother, who has travel plans to frequently see her and the Hornets play.

“I try to not miss anything of my children’s, and it will be a struggle to also coach here in Buckingham and then follow her as well, but Division III plays mostly on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so I will definitely be able to make those Saturday games,” Coach Chambers said.

But in the meantime, Jayda has a senior season of high school basketball to finish. The Lady Knights take a 3-1 record into 2019. Last week, they fell 50-39 to visiting Amherst County High School, a Virginia High School League Class 4 team, but Dec. 17, two days prior, the Lady Knights edged visiting Appomattox County High School 50-48 in an overtime thriller.

“That was a very, very nice win,” Coach Chambers said. “Last year, we fell short to them both times, and so this year, it was a nice way to start the season off and pull it off in overtime.”

In that victory, Jayda Chambers recorded 26 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals, and her future Hornets coach was part of the crowd watching.

“So that was a nice game for her coach to be there to witness …” Coach Chambers said.