KEARNEY, Neb. — When it comes to what is happening at the top of the key, it’s a senior guard that makes the right decisions for Kearney girls basketball.
Bearcats guard, Kelsey Hatcher, has her squad sitting at 5-1 during the holiday break, and is considered the heart and soul of the team by her new head coach.
“She’s probably one of the toughest competitors I have ever coached,” said head coach, Drew Danielson.
Danielson, who came over from Hastings, needed some time to learn about his new group. When it came to getting to know Hatcher, he knew his senior guard would make a special impact.
“I met her during the summer; she was picking up trash at an open gym,” Danielson said. “That just kind of lets you know what she is all about.”
Hatcher talked about why actions like those are so important in an effort to help make her team, a better team.
“Honestly, it makes me super upset when my teammates leave stuff to our coaches to pick up,” Hatcher said. “That is not their job; it’s our job to do.”
Actions like those makes it fitting as to why the Bearcats have been rolling the way they have been this season. It’s the senior leadership in the backcourt that’s helped Kearney put together an average win margin of 13.8 points per game.
“She’s a great teammate, she’s a great person,” Danielson said. “She does the right thing off the floor.”
The character of Hatcher’s has made the senior successful in her final go. According to Hatcher, who says basketball is her favorite sport — and one she wants to play in college, can’t be as successful as she is without her mother.
“It’s everything. It’s a three hour drive [to Elkhorn South],” Hatcher said. “I look at them before every game starts, and they are my biggest supporters.”
Kearney returns from the holiday break in three days, looking to finish the season on a high note at Lincoln Northeast. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
