In late July of 2019, senior Lucy Young committed to an offer from the University of California San Diego. Young has played on varsity all four years of high school and is now a senior captain in her last season. In Young’s three seasons of action, she caught the attention of many northwest schools with a total of 689 points in her 67 games played. Young said she attributes her success to her coach, Kristina Schumacher.
“Coach has trained me by making me a really strong leader and has taught me how to lead a team under pressure, which is something you need at the next level,” Young said.
In Young’s junior year, she averaged 11.7 points per game and scored a sum of 338 points. She even managed to achieve 34 points in a single game against Jackson on Dec. 30 of her sophomore year.
Junior Isabella Reed said her ability to play well on both sides of the court is why she puts up strong numbers.
“Lucy’s a strong player because she can do everything in the game,” Reed said. “She plays lockdown defense and is exceptional on offense and crashing the boards.”
Basketball has always been a part of Young’s childhood; she has been playing since third grade. After reaching high school, Young said she wanted to take her game more seriously. She now meets with a personal trainer to keep her game strong in the off-season. Since Young is enrolled in Running Start at Cascadia College, she has more time to train.
“I’ve been doing a lot of training with Inglemoor, my AAU coach and also on my off days of school with a trainer in Bellevue,” Young said.
Even though she is excited to join the University of California, Young said she is going to miss the team and the bonds she has with her teammates.
“I’m looking forward to spending my last year with some of my best friends and making sure that everything we do is for the benefit of the team. We leave everything on the court every game,” Young said.
Last season, the team surged their way to the Tacoma Dome after qualifying with a 10-3 record, but fell short of the title, which went to Eastlake with a score of 43-53. Sophomore Colbi Zorich said she believes the team’s speed and intensity will help the team make it to the Dome this year.
“We are a really small team, so it’s important to use our fast break ability against the teams who are bigger than us,” Zorich said.
In the team’s first game this season against Lake Washington High School, Young put up 12 points and eight rebounds, adding to the win ultimately determined by Reed’s halfcourt buzzer beater. It was 49-49 with two seconds left, and Reed made a low-arcing deep shot to prevent overtime against Lake Washington.
“It was like in the movies when it goes quiet,” Young said. “When she hit that game winning shot, we all sprinted at Bella as the crowd roared.”
The team then went on to win the next two games against Eastlake High School and Lynwood High School with scores of 54-41 and 69-30. As of Dec. 17, the team is undefeated with a 3-0 record.
