Rich plays with ‘100% effort and passion’

WILLIAMSBURG — Senior guard Carly Rich has been a consistent presence from day one for the Raiders in her scoring abilities and how she plays the game.

In Monday’s 64-49 win over Mid-Prairie, the four-year starter reached a milestone that only three other Raiders’ girls basketball players have — 1,000 career points.

“It means everything to me,” said Rich. “Goals are a really big part of how I play basketball and being able to do it with this team is amazing.”

The shot to cross the mark came on a three late in the second, Rich’s second of the quarter.

Rich was honored after the game in front of the home crowd.

Points are not everything for the Raiders’ senior.

“The points are not as big of a deal, but just playing the rest of the game with 100% effort and passion,” Rich said. “Steph (Coach Dacey) always stresses that 97% of the game is not the points and shots — its the defense, the steals, the layups and everything else.”

Coach Stephanie Dacey is Rich’s aunt. “It's a unique experience,” said Rich about having a family member as her coach. “But I could not ask for a better coach, a better aunt and a better role model,” she said.

The win over the Golden Hawks put the Raiders at 10-2 for the season (11-2 after Tuesday’s win over Grinnell), their best start since the 2013-14 season.

But the Raiders did not get to where they are overnight.

There have been ups and downs throughout Rich’s career with the Raiders, but they have all ultimately led to the growth needed to get to where the team is now.

In her freshman season, Rich played with a great group of seniors on a team that had some success, finishing 13-10.

“Freshman year was definitely a lot of ups and downs,” Rich said. “It was definitely just me trying to get a feeling on how to play high school basketball.”

Eight seniors graduated, and the Raiders were filled with much more youth Rich’s sophomore year.

“Sophomore year was a little bit rough, but we made due,” said Rich. “We had quite a few losses but we were young and grew a lot as a team that year.”

Year two under coach Dacey saw much more success for a team with a year of experience under their belt.

The Raiders finished 14-9 and made it to the second round of the postseason.

“We saw more success my junior year, which is definitely what we needed,“ Rich said. ”I knew I had to step up and lead that team.“

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Rich is one of four senior captains on the team this season.

The Raiders are still somewhat young this season, with four underclassmen in their main eight-player rotation.

It appears that all the pieces have come together for this Raiders team, from coaching down to the players.

“This year I knew it was going to be something special,” Rich said.

Watching the Raiders play this season makes evident that they play as a team and they play with a lot of effort.

In Monday’s win over the Golden Hawks, the Raiders assisted on 17 of 25 baskets and totaled 14 steals.

Contributions were balanced with six players scoring six or more points (three in double-figures). Rich led the charge with 15.

“I would just say we have so much grit,” Rich said on this year’s team. “We play the same way whether we’re down 10 or up 30. We always battle.”

Rich was quick to complement her teammates on what has made this year’s team different from years past.

“I think we just work so well together, and I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am now if it wasn’t for this team,” said Rich.

Bench depth has helped a lot this season, especially with the intensity the Raiders play with.

“We’ve never had depth like this before,” said Rich. “Its truly amazing how our two freshman (Channing Becker and Kylee Suhr) are coming in and playing their hearts out getting points, steals.”

“Our sophomores, Ava (Hocker) and Taylor (Sanchez), are amazing defenders,” Rich said.

Rich’s passion and love for the sport has led her to this point, and there’s one big goal remaining.

“Definitely making it to State,” Rich said. “Its been a goal of mine ever since I have been a little girl, and I know we can do it with this team.”