Charity Yeates still remembers the game.
It was two years ago, when Yeates was a freshman at Columbus Christian Academy. In a junior varsity basketball game for the Rams, she dominated in the post. On the perimeter, her sister Faith, just a sixth-grader, was similarly effective.
The sisters “lifted each other up,” Yeates said, and Columbus Christian crushed its opponent.
But it was one of the only times the sisters got to share the court as part of a team — so far, anyway.
The following year, Charity transferred to Columbus High School and was part of the team that won the Falcons’ first state championship ever. Another one could be on the way in a couple of weeks.
And Faith, now in eighth grade, is part of a standout Columbus Christian team. The Rams just won the north state title, and they’re not done yet.
But despite their success apart, the sisters are thinking about teaming up once again. If they did? Watch out.
“I think we’d be unstoppable,” Faith said.
‘Their names are who they are’
When Edward Yeates gave his daughters — and their younger brother, 10-year-old Christian — their first names, he knew what he was doing.
“Their names,” he said, “are who they are.”
Faith, Charity said, is known for being tough and staying strong. When she makes a mistake in a game, she’ll remain resolute and try to force the other team into a turnover.
Charity, meanwhile, is giving, outgoing and adaptable to anything, her father said.
“You can drop her in any situation and she’ll adjust to it and make the best out of the situation,” Edward said.
Both girls said they’ve done their best to live up to the names they were given.
“We definitely are our names, and it is funny because we really are who we are,” Charity said.
And despite their differences, Edward said, they’re “two Christian ladies who love God,” and each is “a heck of a basketball player.”
“It’s something being a parent and really seeing their different personalities — how they are,” he said.
From the beginning, Charity and Faith built up each other’s games.
Faith, as a guard, learned moves from her older sibling: a power dribble on the way to the rim; a reverse pivot move she loves to deploy in games. At 6 feet tall, Charity has a height advantage, but the 5-foot-8.5 Faith said she’ll be able to catch up soon.
“I think right now she would win because she has more experience, but I’ll get her one day,” Faith said.
Charity, meanwhile, said playing against Faith’s speed helps her against both faster guards and slower post players.
“Learning how to guard her, I knew that this might help me,” she said.
The right path
After her freshman season at Columbus Christian, Charity made the move to Columbus High, hoping for a higher level of competition in the MHSAA’s Class 5A.
“I knew what program I was coming to, and I knew Coach Hairston was going to help me to the right path and make me better and produce me as a player,” she said.
When her games and Faith’s schedule with the Rams don’t conflict — which isn’t always — they’ll go watch each other compete nearly any time they can.
“I like going over there and watching her play,” Faith said. “It kind of does make me feel good to know that my sister’s in a good environment for her to thrive.”
So is Faith, part of a Columbus Christian team with seven seniors that has lost just twice this season. Watching her sister is rewarding, Charity said, even though the transition was tough.
“Coming back to Columbus Christian and supporting her, it is a different feel because I’m not in that jersey anymore,” she said.
Often, she thinks back to that game two years ago, when she and her sister dominated together in Steens.
Maybe, Charity tells herself, it could happen again — just a few miles away. She said she’s “praying” Faith will join her next year as a freshman at Columbus High.
“To play with your sibling, it is a blessing,” Charity said.
Run it back
Every year, Edward and his wife Barbara evaluate what’s best for their daughters — factoring in academics and life as well as basketball.
“We really try to do what’s best for them individually,” he said.
Charity said Falcons coach Yvonne Hairston would welcome the chance to add Faith and her talent to the roster.
“She asks about her all the time,” Charity said. “Especially when we do shootarounds, she’ll jokingly say, ‘Bring Faith along!’
Additionally, being able to walk the hallways with Charity would be a plus, Faith said.
“There, I know that I’m with my sister, and my sister could be right beside me everywhere I go in that school so she’ll protect me,” she said.
But Faith has attended Columbus Christian since fourth grade. She knows the transition, if she decides to make it, won’t be easy.
“I still have friends here, but I want to go up there and play against more competition,” she said. “I want to go, but I don’t want to go.”
Faith said she and Charity will play together on an AAU team this summer, and they’ll go from there.
Both sisters are already thinking about playing in college, and their parents — both former collegiate athletes — are ready to guide them in that pursuit.
“We kind of know what it takes to do that,” Edward said. “It’s their goal and their dreams, and we’re here to help position them in the right direction.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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