SAN ANTONIO — When Carleigh Wenzel steps onto the court against her older brother Brendan, she does it with confidence.
“When we play one-on-one, even though I know I’m not going to win, I’m still going to act like I am going to win until I do," Carleigh says with a laugh.
It is an attitude hammered home and taken into games.
“It’s always intense and competitive because we both like to win and we both like to beat each other," Brendan, a redshirt freshman at Utah, said.
The Wenzel name is a big one at O’Connor High School.
Brendan is the all-time leading scorer in program history and Carleigh is not far behind. She already eclipsed 1,000 career points after her sophomore season -- an accomplishment no one has ever done in a Panthers uniform.
“Seeing what (my brother) did, I knew those were big shoes I was going to need to fill," Carleigh said.
Brendan said, “I knew she was going to do it. She’s been really good from a young age, so I knew she was going to go in there and take over.”
On the recruiting trail, Brendan was a late-bloomer. He originally committed to UTEP, but after some Power-5 offers started rolling in, he decided to head to the PAC-12.
“I think I’m getting bigger, stronger faster, quicker too," Brendan said. "I just adjusted to the pace of the game in college.”
As for his sister, she is not sliding by anyone becoming one of the best prospects nationally in the class of 2022. She might not know where she is going, but she knows what she wants in a school.
“Just really where I’m going to fit," Carleigh said. "I don’t want to go to a school where we don’t connect (like a) family.”
It’s something she has had her entire life, especially with her brother.
“I think he’s really helped me, being there when I need him and pushing me when I need to be pushed," Carleigh said.
Brendan added, “Obviously, she’s getting a lot more attention than I did, but here and there I can still help her and give her some pointers. Things like that.”
There is never any doubt the Wenzel siblings will forever be on the same team.
“I don’t like playing with her because I like to beat her up and stuff like that," Brendan joked.
Maybe just in a metaphorical sense.