SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Sioux Falls will cheer on one of its own in the Final Four.

Former Washington High standout Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda is now a junior guard for at the University of Texas at Austin.

The Longhorns will meet South Carolina Friday night.

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From high school hoops to March Madness, Washington High School basketball players Claire Woods and Grace Peterson have watched Mwenentanda’s career on the court.

“I’ll send her a message if I see her having a good game. And then she’ll send us a message if she sees that we played really well,” Washington senior Claire Woods said.

Both seniors played with the athlete when she was a Warrior.

“As a freshman, I was always able to talk to her. She’d help me out on the court, tell me what it’s like, and she made me the person I am today. I look up to her and want to be the leader for the freshmen we have today on our team,” Washington senior Grace Peterson said.

But the Texas Longhorn isn’t just an inspiration to high schoolers.

“Our high school kids do a really good job of helping at our summer camps, and we have kids who are in the fourth and fifth grade who still have connections with Ndjakalenga. We have kids that are connected all the way down into elementary school, so it’s not just that immediate group that’s walking the halls of the high school with them, but they have an impact on those younger kids as they’re making their way up as well,” Washington girls basketball coach Jamie Parish said.

“It’s really cool watching her succeed as Texas because it’s just somebody that we got the opportunity to play with and we got the opportunity to know her so it’s been really fun watching her,” Woods said.

Gametime on Friday is 6 p.m. CT.