MILWAUKEE- Never has one girl been forced to haul as much on her shoulders as Milwaukee Vincent senior Nicole Griffin. She has defied the odds and met the challenge face to face and won.

In fact, she won three times. That is, three straight WIAA Division 1 state girls basketball championships.

Griffin’s personal story of triumph brings tears to many that hear her tell it, none more than her coach Marquis Hines.

“I love Nicole like she is my daughter,” said an emotional Hines. “I hope I have a daughter and she turns out to be like Nicole.”

As an eighth-grader, Griffin was touted as one of the best girls basketball players and where ever she went to high school they would hit the jackpot.

The choice was obvious; Nicole always wanted to play for her dad, Christopher Griffin, the head girls basketball coach at Vincent.

Then tragedy struck the Griffin home and the Milwaukee basketball community. Christopher Griffin passed away.

It would have been easy for Nicole to choose another school, she did mull over a few private schools, and no one would have said anything.

Not Nicole. She was destined to play for the Vikings.

“When I sat down with Nicole and her mom I told them if I got the job I would look after her,” said Hines.

Now as a senior Griffin is meeting the challenge of being one of the best girls basketball players to come out of the state of Wisconsin.

She was selected as a first-team all-conference player every year since her freshman year. Nicole even collected City Conference Player of the Year honors as a junior and shared the title this season with teammate Chelan Landry.

“It really means a lot to me. I have worked really hard,” said Landry. “I never thought I would be able to put up the big numbers like Nicole.”

As a junior, Nicole was selected as the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Wisconsin, an award she is a finalist for again this season.

The summer after winning her third straight state title, Griffin made the biggest decision of her life, she accepted a full scholarship to the University of Oklahoma. Duke University and Stanford University also showed strong interest.

“My parents always pushed grades on me growing up,” said Griffin. “I take pride in the fact that I am going to college for free.”

It didn’t come easy; Griffin credits her tireless work ethic in the classroom as well.

“I always get my homework done first before anything,” said Griffin. “I know it is really important to get good grades as well.”

Griffin has been consistently on the honor roll at Vincent and has a maintained a grade point average of a 3.9 and is ranked No. 1 in her class.

“I like to get my homework done before practice because coach makes us run a lot,” said Griffin with a smile.

Her opponents are far from smiling, as she has averaged 17 points per game and 11 rebounds per game this season including a 34-point performance against rival Milwaukee King to clinch the City Conference title this season.

Vincent has won three straight Division 1 titles but never won the City Conference outright; they have either lost it to King or tied with King.

“I hate sharing,” said Hines. “King is amazing but it is nice to finally have it all to ourselves.”

Now Hines and Griffin can make history. The Vikings can be the first team ever to win four-straight girls basketball state titles. Hines is just five more away from making history.

Note: This is the first in a series highlighting the candidates for the Miss Basketball award given to the top senior girls basketball player in the state by the Wiscosin Basketball Coaches Association.