Dribbling down the court, headed for the basket, Hannah Stipanovich goes in for the shot. Woosh, the ball is in. New to CHS, the senior post player Stipanovich is a pleasant addition to the Greyhound squad.

Stipanovich transferred from Westminister Christian Academy to CHS at the start of her Senior year. Starting at a very young age, basketball has been an integral part of Stipanovich life.

“Basketball has always been a big family tradition because my dad and all my relatives play basketball,” Stipanovich said. “So when I was in elementary school, me and my sisters and dad would go out into the backyard and play a couple games of basketball.”

Stipanovich reflected on the atmosphere of her old team compared to CHS. “My old team included my sister and also my dad as the coach,” Stipanovich said. “It was very competitive and it was the central topic at practice and also at home. I am excited to play here by myself.”

Stipanovich has several goals for herself as a part of the girls’ basketball team this year.

“I really want to improve my rebounding skills, and just getting every- one involved more on the floor,” Stipanovich said. “I also want to get to know each of the girls better. And to have fun, as cliché as that sounds.”

Heath Kent, head coach of the varsity team, thinks highly of Stipanovich.

“She is a very good shooter and very aggressive,” Kent said. “I think these skills comes from the fact that she played in Westminster, which has a very good program and went to the final four a couple of years back. So I expect her to come in and provide some veteran leadership to the team.”

Though this is only Stipanovich’s first year of playing for CHS, Kent has seen Stipanovich thrive with the team.

“She has made a very easy transition over here and befriended a lot ofthe players,” Kent said. “With the season only starting, she has that type of personality that you can stick her in any situation and she’ll thrive.”

Junior guard Reeves Oyster, agreed that Stipanovich’s friendliness helped for an easy transition on the team.

“Her traits also made her transition to sports easier because she is someone that people want on the team. Not just because of her skills, but also her personality.”

Oyster thinks that Stipanovich’s dedication and overall talent for the game have given a major boost to the team’s performance on and off the court.

“She will get hit and just get right back up and start playing,” Oyster said. “She wants to be in the game as long as possible. She is someone who fights for the ball every single time. She is going to help us get lots of shots up during the game, and will be a major contributor to offensive put-backs.”

Stipanovich says that the hardest part of basketball is the exhaustion she faces after each practice.

“I am always tired,” Stipanovich said. “I come home from basketball and I have no motivation to do my homework or anything because practice is very time-consuming and long. For me to keep the motivation up for the five month season is really hard.”

Stipanovich says that she always sets the bar a notch higher to motivate herself.

“I always try to set goals that I know are out of my reach and keep working toward those goals,” Stipanovich said.

Oyster said that with Stipanovich being on the team it motivates her to work even harder during practice.

“She definitely makes me go a lot harder during practice because she brings the atmosphere of Westminster to Clayton,” Oyster said. “Her determination as a post player has simulated game situations for me as a guard and I’ve definitely improved having her on the team.”