Katy Ainslie stands out in her senior year as the women’s basketball team crushes competitors
Katy Ainslie (Redmond, Wash.) is on the top of her game this year as a senior and is looking to lead the Loggers’ women’s basketball team to a conference title in her final year. She averaged 13.3 points per game and 5.1 rebounds so far this season.
The Loggers are off to a 7-0 start this season and don’t seem to be letting up anytime soon after beating Santa Cruz 53-51 this past Friday Dec. 7 and crushed Colorado College 94-45 on Saturday Dec. 8.
Ainslie added 10 points in the first game and in the second she racked up six points. The week before she was named the Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the week after providing a double-double when scoring 25 points and 11 rebounds against Concordia in the 69-56 win.
Ainslie didn’t even realize it. In fact social media was what alerted her.
“I didn’t even know! I saw it on Twitter actually, and it’s definitely cool to be recognized, but more importantly the success our team is having is more important than any individual award I could get,” Ainslie said.
Her talent is seen in so many ways and is highlighted by her teammate, junior Emily Sheldon (Portland, Ore.).
“She has the most consistent jump-shot you will see. We call her Dirk (Dirk Nowitzki, NBA player) because she has a signature move where she turns around and hits a jumper (similar to Dirk’s). You just can’t guard her, and there is only so much you can do when guarding her because she shoots so well. She is also aware about who’s having a good shooting night and finds them. She makes everyone on the team better,” Sheldon said.
Her talent on the court is notable, but what really shows is her leadership in that she makes everyone around her that much better, while also being a consistent teammate. Sheldon elaborated about just that.
“Katy’s definitely the ideal teammate to have because she works so hard and she’s so caring about every single person on the team, she is the leader and does everything right all of the time. She doesn’t get down on herself when she makes mistake,” Sheldon said.
The chemistry has played a huge part in the recent success and Ainslie can’t say enough about how wonderful it is to be a part of the team.
“I honestly step on the court whether it is a practice and a game and whether I’m personally having a good game or not, it’s always fun to play with this group of girls,” Ainslie said. “It doesn’t matter if I score two points or 20; I’m always having fun. I think we really push each other to make each other better and reach our full potential because we all know what we are personally capable of, and if I don’t see someone working hard, I will call them out. And if I’m not working out, I will be called out. Being accountable is really important.”
The coaching staff has taken their chemistry to the next level.
“I think the coaching staff is on the same page as us this year, and that is something we may have not really seen in years past. They make sure we are going our hardest 100 percent of the time,” Ainslie said.
The coaching staff and the team’s chemistry have contributed to the strong start overall, but there are a few games that Ainslie has marked down on the schedule, especially in conference.
“Some of the teams in conference I am really looking forward to playing. Whitman and George Fox are two teams I have never beaten while [at the University],” Ainslie said.
Those games will be focused on for sure, but for Ainslie, leaving the season without any regrets is the most important focus.
“I want to leave senior year not having any regrets,” Ainslie said. “I think that is the biggest motivation for me is to be able to look at my four years and be satisfied with everything I have accomplished. I don’t want to end my senior year and feel like I should have done something more and could have done something more.”
The way the season is going, it doesn’t look like she will have to worry.
