Sister, Sister: Waners drive each other to succeed

It's been two long years for the Waner sisters, but the duo will finally be reunited on the basketball court this season as Blue Devils.

Emily Waner and her two-year younger sister Abby began playing basketball together 12 years ago on a team their father Tim coached. And since then the two have formed a bond on the court that could only be described as extraordinary.

"They knew each other so well, it's like each knew what the other was going to do before they did it," said Ron Burgin, their ThunderRidge high school coach. "One time in particular we were playing Highlands Ranch [one of the school's main rivals]. Emily was driving and made a cross court pass to Abby. I swear she never looked. It was the most bizarre thing I've ever seen, and it won the game."

This season, both Emily and Abby will make their debut as Duke guards.

Emily, a junior academically but a sophomore athletically, transferred from the University of Colorado at the start of the 2004-2005 academic year, but NCAA rules forced her to sit out last season.

At the same time Emily decided to transfer, Abby, the 2005 high school National Player of the Year, was going through her own recruiting process. Missing the rapport they shared on and off the court, the sisters, who talked every day while Emily was away at school, decided they would attend the same university.

Both sisters stressed that during their search, the schools had to be willing to offer each a scholarship individually, regardless of the other's recruitment.

"We've always wanted to play together," Emily said. "I realized that I wasn't happy, and that we would look at schools together. I knew it would be worth it."

They have always acted this way.

The sisters often played one-on-one games at their local recreational center in Highlands Ranch, Colo., which Abby said they never finished.

Like many sibling competitions, the games would deteriorate into arguments over fouls or travelling calls.

In one particular game shortly after Emily turned 16, Abby thought she had been wrongly accused of cheating and threw the ball at her sister.

Fed up with Abby, Emily drove home-without her sister.

"She told me I could either call home or walk home," Abby said.

To this day, the two disagree on how long the walk home really was. While Emily estimated the trip to be 10 minutes long, Abby remembers it taking her closer to 20 minutes.

Four years later, they both laugh about that fight because, like their other quarrels, it didn't matter off the court.

"I know she is my sister and I can be competitive with her and step off the court and everything will be fine," Abby said.

Having seen their relationship develop as a coach, fan and, most importantly, a father, Tim Waner said he believes his daughters' rivalry is the reason they have become such dynamic players.

"It's not real easy to hide from your sister's criticisms," Tim Waner said. "They can say those kind of bold truths. It's helped them to develop this synchronization on the court."

This mentality has made the Waners the ideal teammates in the atmosphere that Goestenkors is trying to foster for the women's basketball program.

"It's been a positive for our entire team because they've shown us how you can treat one another and be tough on one another and still know that at the end of the day, when you get off the court, you still care about one another, just like sisters do," Goestenkors said. "That's the kind of feeling we want with our whole team, that we're a very large family of sisters."

Although Goestenkors said she will not deliberately play Emily and Abby together during games more than other guard combinations simply because of their rapport, the instincts they share will benefit the Blue Devils.

"They're double trouble, and it's double the fun," Goestenkors said. "They're both really, really good. They're extremely talented, and they're two of the most competitive players that I've had."

And now that they are representing the same school for the first time since winning the Colorado 5A State Championship in 2003, the sisters are having a blast on the court.

The pair will have three seasons-if Emily chooses to use all her remaining years of eligibility-to play together and try to help the Blue Devils capture their first national championship.

But for now, they just want to renew the rhythm they shared two years ago.

"In high school, I could read her," Abby said. "She knew what I was going to do, and I knew what she was going to do. Here it is just a completely different level. We've talked about developing that look again, and it's getting there."