The anticipation was finally over. When freshman Lorelei Bennett walked out onto the Fieldhouse court for the first time this summer, hands shaking, the reality of it all finally set in.
It was time to go to work. Little did she know, she would have to mentally and physically prepare herself to go from a middle school basketball player to varsity starter in just a matter of months.
“I’m actually here,” Bennett said. “I was waiting my whole middle school season. I was waiting to get to high school, and I’m finally here.”
Now a starter on the varsity basketball team, Bennett continues to gain confidence in her craft and better adjust from going to middle school to varsity basketball in a year with the help of her teammates, coaches and dad.
One of the first big changes Bennett had to get used to was the huge size and age gap between eighth grade and varsity players.
Bennett, standing around 5 feet 5 inches, isn’t the biggest on the court. Now facing girls up in the mid-six foot range, she has to find other ways to be impactful on the court.
She tries to often create fouls to get to the free throw line because she is more confident from there, as well as passing the ball to get her teammates in the best position to score.
Now the third leading scorer on the team and playing multiple games as the leading scorer, she has found a way around the size deficit.
However, Bennett’s role for the team wasn’t always like this. In the summer, she was the first or second sub of the bench and didn’t have as big of a responsibility as she has now.
“I didn’t think I was going to be getting varsity minutes,” Bennett said. “But now I’m starting, so it’s just been great.”
Head coach Adam Morelock said that it is her work ethic that has got her to where she is today.
“Lorelei is a high-effort kid, so she is a kid that is going to go out, no matter what the situation or the circumstance is going to be, (with) high energy (and) high effort,” Morelock said. “She is going to put forth her best, which is great for us because we know we can depend on that.”
Another thing that helped Bennett through the tough transition was her teammates and the bond between them.
“From day one to now, I feel like I’m more of a confident player,” Bennett said. “I feel like our team chemistry is so much better … their team (was) already so strong together, and then kind of being thrown into that, it was hard at first. But now I feel like we’re all closer together.”
Bennett’s family, specifically her dad, has been another piece that has been pushing and helping her through this tough transition.
Although her dad never coached her on a team, he still helps her out whenever she needs it.
“I think that her support is very strong,” Morelock said. “And I think that also correlates to how successful she’s been.”
Bennett can often be seen before or after practice putting up shots with her dad rebounding. Occasionally, after a bad game, she and her dad will work on something that didn’t go well, sometimes even putting up one hundred free throws at home.
“A big thing for Lorelei is that she is willing to put in the extra time … I think that because of that energy and effort, she’s seeing improvements that other kids aren’t,” Morelock said.
Some goals Bennett has are focused on both the present and near future.
Bennett says she wants to keep progressing in her scoring and keep playing how she has been. Her assists have been a big part of her game and she wants to keep that up.
Another goal that Bennett has in the far future is to play in college. She says that playing at that level is her end goal.
“She’s come a long way from October when we were starting the season, or even last summer when we were playing, and hopefully that growth and development will continue,” Morelock said.
