Oduor Nets Gamer of the Week Honors
Teays Physical Therapy Center, Inc. and The Putnam Herald are pleased to present this week’s Gamer of the Week to freshman, Maggie Oduor of the Hurricane High School Girls Basketball team.
Amid a learning and growing year for the Hurricane Redskin’s girls’ basketball team, several points of optimism can be taken away. Hurricane has a very young team that will continue to grow and become more experienced over the next few years. One of the brightest spots on this squad is freshman, Maggie Oduor. Maggie has entered high school this year and made an immediate impact on the team as the starting point guard. While the team (3-8 at the time of writing) has had its struggles, they are coming off a huge 63-38 win over Capital that may just be the win they were looking for. Oduor contributed 20 points and ran the offense for the Redskins. Maggie noted that the game gave them some confidence going forward into the second half of the season.
Shawn Lucas, head coach for the Hurricane girls’ team, noted that the biggest contribution Maggie has given the team is coming in and running the offense as a true point guard. “She gives us someone who can handle the ball under pressure and get our team in the correct offense. She does a great job distributing the ball to her teammates and can score when our team needs a bucket. With her success already as a freshman, we look forward to her continued growth as a player for us,” stated Lucas. Maggie noted that she has learned a good bit during her freshman year as the point guard. “I need to be calm and under control so that our offense can come naturally and not feel rushed and frantic. I feel like if the point guard displays that calmness and confidence initiating the offense, it puts the rest of the team at ease a little bit,” said Maggie. She also noted that the team’s goals going forward this season are to simply develop as a program and getting everyone the experience they need to be more successful in the coming years.
Since she was in 2nd grade and started playing basketball in the Hurricane youth league, Maggie has always appreciated and loved the up-tempo, free flowing style of basketball. “I just love the game. It’s an exciting sport to play and watch. We haven’t experienced as much success this year as I would have liked, but we are continually growing and improving, and I think that will pay dividends for our team in the future.”
Maggie draws inspiration from her mother, whom she says has and continues to sacrifice everything for her to have chances to travel around and participate in sports she’s involved in. “She works really hard to give me opportunities to do what I love. It means everything to me,” stated Oduor. Maggie achieved a 4.0 GPA in her first semester of high school, all while being a member of both the soccer and basketball teams.
Please look for other local high school athletes to be named in next week’s female Gamer of the Week Sponsored by Teays Physical Therapy Center, Inc. and The Putnam Herald.