The non-region portion of the winter sports season is reaching an end as teams prepare for the holiday break and special tournaments that come with it. 

On the basketball court, some of the area’s best players are making the most of their minutes. This week’s Athlete of the Week winners scored big to help their teams maintain their undefeated starts to the season.

Voting for Athlete of the Week runs from 10 a.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Monday each week at lexingtonchronicle.com/athleteoftheweek. To submit a nominee for consideration, email a photo and short bio to sports@lexingtonchronicle.com.

Samaje Govan

Dutch Fork junior Samaje Govan is off to a great start this season with the Silver Foxes. 

In last week’s win over A.C. Flora, he led all players with 28 points. He made plays on both ends of the floor, contributing an additional three rebounds and three steals. 

Govan is in his fourth season on the Dutch Fork varsity squad but is playing a bigger role than ever before. He has taken over duties as the team’s primary ball handler, and he is excelling so far.

This season, he is averaging 16 points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals. Those are all career highs. 

Dutch Fork began this week still undefeated at (9-0), and Govan is a big reason why. If he can maintain his current contributions, the Silver Foxes will have a good chance to continue their current trajectory. 

Jaleya Lytes

Lexington’s Jaleya Lytes had a solid outing against Catawba Ridge to help the Wildcats finish last week (10-0).

Lytes has been one of the focal points in the Wildcats’ offense, and against the Copperheads, she scored a game-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting. She put the ball in the hoop from in close and from downtown, shooting 4-of-7 from three-point land and 3-of-4 from two. 

Outside her offensive contributions, Lytes does a lot of heavy lifting for Lexington on defense. She averages almost three steals per game and isn’t afraid to guard the opponent’s first option.