Texan Mosaic

by: NICK ALVARADO/Editorial Assistant

When Elizabeth and Sujei Cera were at Levelland High School, they caught the attention of many people across the South Plains. Now, they are catching attention while playing for South Plains College.

“It is different,” Elizabeth Cera said. “The girls are different, and we have to get used to that. The people are different, and school is harder.”

It can be tough for anyone to leave his or her native county and move to a town in another country. But to the Elizabeth and Sujei, it was alot harder originating from Mexico.

“When we came here, we didn’t understand English or didn’t know anything,” Elizabeth explains. “We only knew the numbers and the ABCs, so it was hard.”

The sisters have family in Levelland, as their mother lives here with their 9-year-old brother.

“He is trying to play basketball,” Elizabeth said. “He doesn’t like it that much.”

With family in Levelland, they also have family back in Mexico.

“Our parents got divorced, so we moved here with my mom, and my dad lives in Mexico,” Sujei said. “It was kinda hard.”

After helping the Levelland Loboettes reach the playoffs last season, they made their committment to play basketball for Coach Cayla Petree and the Lady Texans.

“It feels good,” Elizabeth said of the decision. “We didn’t go anywhere far.”

“We still have family and friends here,” Sujei said. “It’s kinda the same.”

On Jan. 25, Levelland High School basketball players attended the Lady Texans’ game against Western Texas College and watched Elizabeth and Sujei play for a different team.

“It was good seeing the players again,” Elizabeth said.

On Feb. 1, Elizabeth broke the SPC record of three-point shots made in a single game with 12, finishing the game with 42 points in an 85-56 victory against Frank Phillips College.

The Cera sisters still have the motivation to play hard every game day, even if they don’t have the height.

“I want to play Division 1 basketball,” Elizabeth said. “It’s hard, because I’m not that tall. I need to get better at some things. My goal is to become better.”

Elizabeth is currently playing well for the Lady Texans and has earned her place as a starter, while Sujei comes off the bench. Elizabeth is averaging 14 points per game, ranking third in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference in scoring, and averages 2.5 rebounds per game.

Whenever the Cera sisters are not on the court, they like to catch up on sleep. But they like playing basketball most of the time.

With being in college, the Cera sisters do have career goals they would like to acheive. Both of them are currently taking the basic classes with an undeclared major.

“We want to be able to speak different and multiple languages,” Elizabeth said.”I want to be in international relations.”

Sujei added, “I want to be a Spanish teacher.”

The sisters look to help the Lady Texans reach the NJCAA Region V tournament in Brownwood with the rest of the conference games being a must-win.

“We have to win,” Elizabeth said. “If we lose, we’re out. We have to play hard and finish the game.”