Athlete of the Week – Hannah Lyslo

PC sophomore and basketball player Hannah Lyslo has been named Jersey Mike’s Athlete of the Week after helping lead the Lady Royals to a statement upset over Clatskanie. Hannah shares her answers to this week’s Q+A:

Hannah, first off, congratulations on being named Jersey Mike’s Athlete of the Week. What a week it was for your girls’ basketball team. You knocked off Columbia to advance to the play-in game in Vernonia, and then you upset Clatskanie to advance to the state playoffs. What was the preparation like this week in practice, and how surprised or not surprised were you at how well you guys played?

The thought of it possibly being our last week of practice encouraged all of us to work hard to continue our season, especially with all of our seniors. We also really wanted to finally beat Clatskanie, that was my main goal this season, to play hard to get to that game against Clatskanie, and when we did I was determined to show them that our team is so much stronger than we appear. I was not super surprised when we pulled out the win, being that we were clearly the harder-working team. I was surprised at how organized we played; that was personally our best game as a team, in my opinion.

After scoring double-figures against Columbia in the play-in game, you exploded for 28 points, 7 three-pointers, and 9 rebounds against Clatskanie. What was your mindset going into those games, and did you feel you needed to raise your level of play here in the postseason?

My mindset was to show Clatskanie that I could be a threat, too. My dad believed in me more than I did in myself, so I finally understood that to win this game, I had to show up and not be afraid to take some risky shots.

 When you’re in a groove like you were at Vernonia, how does it feel as a player to see the ball go in that many times in such a big moment? Do you play with a different level of confidence?

It felt great, especially seeing the other team react to how I could really play with confidence. Joey (#2 on Clatskanie) never looked so nervous. Now seeing what I can really do with having confidence, I am so ready to show Western what I’ve got.

So here you guys are now, headed to the state playoffs, one game away from Pendleton. How does the team feel about your game at Western Christian on Saturday?

I think we are all slightly nervous [because] they have a 6 ‘2 post, but that will just make us be more creative with how we play. We did play them already this season so we have an idea of what they do. Now we have to come out and prove that our team is capable of so much more than other teams think.

Your team has taken a big jump this season. What has changed from last year and are you enjoying the season to this point?

We have a great coaching staff that has encouraged us so much to fully play our hardest. They encourage us when we feel stuck, whether our shot is off or we are not confident. The thing I hold on to most from them is to not be afraid to shoot, as [Coach] Felton quotes, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”.

Moving forward, now that your team has seen some great success, what do you hope other girls in the school see when they watch you guys play? Is the hope that we see more girls come out next year?

I hope it encourages them to come out for basketball. Basketball season is one of my favorite seasons and has given me lots of memories to hold on to. So I really hope we see more girls come out for basketball next year.