First cousins Harriet Winchester and John Pettway have been playing basketball against each other since they were little kids.  Back then, they were playing one-on-one in the backyard, going toe-to-toe and trash talking each other. 

“We lived 20 feet away from each other …  when I’d win we’d get to fighting and when he’d win we’d get to fighting, then we’d make up,” Winchester said with a smile. “It made us both tough.”

What started in the backyard has moved to the court of Keith High School, where both players are preparing to start their senior basketball seasons.

Both are near the end of stellar careers that have seen them play in the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s all-star game in 2014 and have led teams deep into the 1A playoffs.

Winchester averaged 18.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5 assists per game while helping lead Keith to the 1A state championship in February. She was also named a finalist for 1A player of the year.

Pettway averaged 24.3 points per game and 6.0 rebounds during his junior year and was named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s second team all-state squad earlier this year. He and the Bears were perched on top of the 1A rankings most of the season.

Given all they’ve accomplished, it would be easy to assume that they’d compete over their accomplishments, but they don’t. They’re too busy battling it out over who’s the better defensive player.

“The only thing we go at each other over is playing defense,” Winchester said. “He claims he’s the best defensive player in the world and I say otherwise. But championships … we don’t talk about that.”

Pettway will admit that Winchester beat him once in a pickup game, but he’s not ready to give her the title of best defender in the family yet.

“I call myself the defensive stopper and then she will come back and D me up,” he said. “We just play good defense and get better.”

Each player has drawn a lot of attention from colleges over the years because of their effort at both ends of the floor.

All of that hard work is starting to pay dividends.

Winchester signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Troy University on Wednesday, while Pettway is still mulling his decision. He has an offer from Samford and has drawn interest from Alabama State, Alabama A&M, Mercer, Appalachian State, Troy, Middle Tennessee and Tennessee Tech.

“I’m just taking my time and making sure I pick the school with the right major, where I’ll feel comfortable at for the next four years,” Pettway said.

He hopes to go into electrical engineering with a minor in drafting and design because he’s got an eye toward the future.

“It’s not the easiest [major], but working hard for four years and taking care of your family for the rest of your life — you’ve got to look at it like that,” he said.

Both players said they are looking forward to Friday night, when the Bears will open their seasons by traveling to Selma High to take on the county rival Saints. It’ll be the last time either player plays at Selma High, one of the games they look forward to the most each year.

“It’s going to be bittersweet, but I want to win,” Winchester said. “We are going to try hard to win that game, so that’ll help the bitter sweetness.”