By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

“Give it your all” is Kelsey Hett’s motto in sports and life.

The 5-foot-7 player is the only senior on Centre girls basketball team. She hopes to play college ball, so it’s important that she give 100% effort, she said.

This year she wanted to do well because someone will be watching her from above. Her mother, Misty, died this past summer.

“I’m playing for her,” she said. “She liked to come and see me play.”

Kelsey also appreciates the support she gets from her father, Tony Hett.

Kelsey’s efforts often land her on the floor. She likes taking charges and scrambling for loose balls.

“Taking charges is one of the funnest things I do,” she said. “I want them to see my determination to win the game. That one ball I scramble for might be the one that wins the game.”

Kelsey has been playing basketball since she was in fourth grade.

“It’s been a big part of my life,” she said.

She likes to go for 3-point shots and has scored a game-high 27 points twice this season.

During her four years in high school, her team has placed second or third in the Cougar Classic. She has been named to the Wheat State League first team every year and received all-state honorable mention as a sophomore and junior.

Hett also excels in academics. She is a member of National Honor Society and has a grade point average of 3.80.

“If you don’t care about grades, you don’t care about sports,” she said.

Hett and her teammates have learned how to handle losses.

“If we lose a game, I don’t feel down,” she said. “I’m the tallest of six players on the team, and we do our best. We laugh and joke and go on.”

She said team members begin every game by reminding themselves that they are a family.

“We bicker, have fun, and help each other,” she said. “It’s not about me. If I’m having a rough game, I pass the ball on to others.”

Hett does not know where the future will lead but knows she will give it her best shot.

“I like to give 100% for the team,” she said.