Heading to the University of Missouri, Columbia on a soccer scholarship next year, senior Rachel Hise is keeping her game inside this winter as she plays for the Lady Leopards basketball team. Tuesday night the team plays Ranchview at Ranchview High School with the game starting at 6:30 p.m.

The Red Ledger: How has the season been for the girls basketball team so far?

Hise: “It’s been a little bit of a struggle because we have such a young team but every game we play a little bit better so I would say we are progressing slowly.”

The Red Ledger: The past few games have been rough. How do you think it will affect the rest of the season?

Hise: “I think it will make us play harder and work harder in practice and try and get better.”

The Red Ledger: How is the team approaching this season?

Hise: “With an open mind, we are trying to get the win but we are just trying to get better each game as a team.”

The Red Ledger: What is the biggest game expected to be?

Hise: “McKinney North.”

The Red Ledger: How is the team adapting to the new coach?

Hise: “He does things differently but he’s really cool so it makes everything easy.”

The Red Ledger: The team has been very young this year. Has this been an impact on the season?

Hise: “Experience-wise, the freshman haven’t played against these people before and so we have to be patient with them and correct them so they don’t get down on themselves.”

The Red Ledger: How are the younger girls coming along?

Hise: “Good, they work really hard. There are 4 freshman on varsity which is a big change from last year when we only had 1.”

The Red Ledger: What’s the team’s game plan? Does it change by game?
Hise: “Our game plan so far is just try to win but work really hard on defense. Getting better each game.”

The Red Ledger: Why did you choose basketball over soccer, since you are playing soccer in college?

Hise: “My select coach doesn’t like us to play high school soccer because it’s so dangerous and with everyone tearing their ACLs, it scares me. I know you can still get hurt in basketball, I just like playing basketball more than soccer for school.”