The Utah Military Academy Girls Basketball season came to an end in the beginning of February. The senior girls did an OUTSTANDING job even though the overall record of 3-12 wasn’t the best. This season highlighted some of the best players at UMA.
According to Coach Kate Nielsen, their goals for the season were “to win a few games” and “to play your best and not give up.”
Coach Nielsen and her girls had a long and hard season but fought well. They tried their best and gave their all when it came to the girls, but the senior girls were the main focus. They wanted to have their best season yet to end their high school years off with a win. The team only had seven girls on the team. The majority were seniors Kendall Prieto, Desiree Rawson, Cassidee Zollinger, and Bhavjeet Kaur.
The top scorer for the girls team was Kendall Prieto. A senior this year, Cadet Prieto has been playing basketball and soccer all of her high school years. She was a captain on the both the girls high school basketball team and the girls high school soccer team.
A true player, Prieto explained, “I didn’t have any real goals. I just wanted to go out there and play ball.”
Cadet Kendall Prieto drives to the basket.
Prieto played both the point and shooting guard positions. To prepare for games, she listens to “Baby” by Justin Bieber. “My favorite memory [of the season] would have to be when Cassi almost threw hands with a girl from Camp Williams.”
Another long-time member of the girls basketball team was senior cadet Cassidee Zollinger. She has played on the girls high school basketball team for four years and has also played high school soccer for four years. Zollinger has also been offered a scholarship to play soccer at the next level.
Cadet Zollinger was a humble athlete when asked who inspires her most. “Myself, Obviously! Who else would it be?” She also is a good sportsman. “My favorite memory of the season was beating West Valley at home, and the other team got so mad that they started yelling at each other.” Yet, she will miss “being a part of a basketball team, and playing games with my friends.”
Though she did not play at the beginning of the season, the girls team convinced senior Bhavjeet Kaur to finish the season with them. She only played a few games this season because she is involved in a lot of activities within the school, including the drill commander for the unarmed team.
“I played as a forward and a post player,” explained Kaur.
For such a short time, Kaur believes that the coaching staff helped her. “My personal goal was to play the best for the team and where I was needed. Coach Bodell and coach Nielsen helped me on court a lot and gave good criticism to help me improve.”
There were some challenges during the end of the season for Kaur. But she thanks the team for helping to overcome them. “We did not have many subs. But the girls have so much hustle and dedication to the game. I’m very proud of their motivation and drive for the game.”
