Rachel Hollivay is getting better every day.
Even though the Heritage Academy junior admits she isn”t 100 percent, her ability to affect a game still remains high.
The 6-foot-5 center offered a glimpse last week of what she could do by helping the Lady Patriots (18-15) reach the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, Division II title game. Hollivay had 17 points in a victory against Copiah Academy and then had 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 blocked shots in a 59-49 victory against East Rankin.
For her efforts, Hollivay is The Dispatch”s Prep Player of the Week.
“I have grown to be a leader with my team,” said Hollivay, who transferred to Heritage Academy from New Hope School. “When I first came here, I didn”t really talk to anybody. I stayed to myself. There are real nice people here, and I just opened myself up. They love me and I love them. It is working good here.”
Hollivay said her experience at the school hasn”t been what she expected. She said she is enjoying working with a tutor who is helping her raise her grades after a slow start. She feels she is on the right path to realizing her goal to earn a Division I scholarship after her senior year in high school.
As for basketball, she said things have not changed very much. Heritage Academy coach Bruce Allsup is capitalizing on Hollivay”s ballhandling abilities to have her run the point at times, but she still wears a bull”s-eye on her back as a player many opponents try to stop.
“She is playing a lot better,” Allsup said. “She is getting healthy now and is able to be a little bit more explosive in all parts of her game. She is starting to be able to do a little more things for us.”
Hollivay said she is working through pain in her feet and said she is at 80-90 percent. Injuries early in the season kept her out of action.
“I feel I can do better,” Hollivay said. “I want to work on my ballhandling. Teams already know to force me to my left, so I just have to work on my ballhandling.”
Hollivay has attracted plenty of interest from college coaches. She said she is looking forward to her final year of high school and making a decision.
“I want to see how it feels,” Hollivay said. “I want to make a big decision about where I want to go.”
She hasn”t narrowed her list of schools and anticipates taking plenty of visits and doing plenty of research on what will be the school for her.
For now, though, his focus is on helping the Lady Patriots keep their season alive. Allsup feels his team has a good shot to take the first step Thursday.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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