Keiahnna Engel's college basketball jersey reads Boise State, but it might as well say Alaska.
The former Dimond High star, who returns home for this week's GCI Great Alaska Shootout, hasn't stopped paying tribute to her home state since leaving in 2011. Being from Alaska defines who she is on the court.
"I play with a chip on my shoulder because I still have stuff to prove coming from Alaska," she said. "People still think we can't ball."
Engel laughs. She doesn't care what people think. She won't let anybody forget where she's from, writing "AK 907" on her shoes.
Engel started all 32 games last season and is averaging 10.3 points per game this season as the first player off the bench for the Broncos of the Mountain West Conference.
"I think I'm playing the best I've ever played," she said. "I'm in the best shape of my life, and I think I'm playing really well."
When Boise State meets Long Beach State in Tuesday's first round of the four-team women's tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center, Engel will get a chance to play in front of family and friends for the first time since high school.
"I am so grateful for this chance to come home," she said. "I'm excited to show everybody that I have improved since high school. I'm not the same attack-the-basket-all-the-time player. I have other skills."
At Dimond, Engel was basketball royalty. She was a four-time all-state selection, a two-time player of the year and a Parade All-American as a senior.
She was also a state champion in the hurdles on the track and a championship-winning quarterback in flag football. Between the three sports, she was a slam dunk pick for Anchorage Daily News State Female Athlete of the Year in 2011.
Engel, 21, is now a junior at Boise State and coming off her third surgery in three years on her left knee. But you wouldn't know it. She plays with no fear.
"This is the best I felt since I tore my ACL," said Engel, who tore her anterior cruciate ligament two days before the 2012 season opener, forcing her to redshirt and miss the 2012-13 season.
She came back last season but never really felt comfortable on the court.
"I was playing with pain every day," she said. "It was a 10."
Now she's pain-free and able to play aggressively and relentlessly, and with confidence.
"I might be 5-6, but I have the heart of a 6-footer," Engel said.
Maybe that explains how someone her size averaged nearly two offensive rebounds per game last season. .
"I play like everybody's against me," she said. "Taller players don't think I can do the stuff that I can do."
Off the court, Engel isn't so feisty. She's a homebody who prefers quiet nights. When she does go out, she likes to eat at the 'The Village,' a restaurant off campus. She gets there in her 2005 Volkswagen Jetta, which she bought recently because it gets good gas mileage.
Engel is scheduled to graduate from Boise State in the spring with degrees in communications and business management. She plans to get her master's degree next year during her senior season on the basketball court.
That's down the road, though. This week is all about the Shootout. Boise State's pre-tournament plans include an early Thanksgiving dinner cooked by Engel's mom.
This is the first time in four years Engel will spend Thanksgiving at home. But she didn't come back for her mom's turkey. She came back for a title.
"This is a business trip," Engel said. "It's a blessing to be home, but it won't mean anything unless we win."
Van Williams is a freelance writer in Anchorage and a correspondent for the Alaska School Activities Association