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04/30/2020 12:00 AMOn any given day, Rachel Lehn spends hours in her driveway working on her shot, getting in as many reps as possible. Rachel’s determination to improve her game paid off in a big way for the senior shooting guard and the Morgan girls’ basketball team this year. Rachel had a solid senior season and helped the Huskies post an overall record of 18-7 on the campaign.
“To get a consistent shot, it’s really just about having good form and getting in a lot of repetition,” says Rachel. “I would spend hours just shooting the same couple shots over and over again until I could make them consistently. And then the next day, I would choose new spots and do it all over again.”
Rachel hit 34 shots from 3-point range on her way to averaging six points, four rebounds, and two steals per game this year. Head Coach Caitlin Woods describes Rachel as one of the most clutch players on Morgan’s roster, noting a standout performance against Cromwell in the Shoreline Conference Tournament semifinals.
“Rachel hit several key shots for us throughout the course of this season,” Woods says. “My favorite moment came against Cromwell the second time we played them. In our first meeting against them, we lost by almost 20, and it wasn’t looking good the second time around. But here comes Rachel down the stretch. She hit two threes, which ended up giving us the lead, and we won by a point.”
Morgan’s win over the Panthers advanced to the Huskies to the Shoreline Conference championship game. Rachel says it means a lot that Morgan earned the opportunity to compete on the league’s biggest stage.
“Our team worked really hard all season and, even though we lost in the finals, I was so proud that we made it there,” says Rachel. “It was a really fun, competitive game [against Cromwell], and it was a whole team effort to pull out the win. The crowd was great, and it was definitely a game to be remembered.”
Rachel was a freshman when Woods became Morgan’s head coach four years ago. In the subsequent seasons, Rachel and her senior teammates have helped the Huskies climb back up the ladder to become one of the top squads in the Shoreline Conference.
“I was one of I think 11 freshmen on the team and now, as a senior, there are only three of us left,” Rachel says. “I think we are a special graduating class, because we are the first three to go through all four years of the program with coach, and the four of us have all had a chance to grow together.”
Rachel’s love for basketball has grown since she started playing the game in 2nd grade. Rachel started off in park and rec before playing in middle school and eventually joining the Huskies. Rachel takes pride in the contributions she made for Morgan this year, specifically with her shot from beyond the arc.
“My favorite aspect of the sport is shooting. I love the feeling you get when you release the ball and just know it’s going in,” says Rachel. “It’s one way that I was able to help my team this year. My teammates were really good at finding me for the open shot. We had a lot of shooting threats on the team this year, which I think is part of the reason we were so successful.”
Although Rachel doesn’t play any other sports at Morgan, she is a member of two clubs. Rachel is a part of Peer Advocates and the REACT Club at the school.
“I enjoy being a part of these clubs,” Rachel says. “They focus on educating people on mental health issues, as well as drug prevention.”
Rachel plans on studying criminal psychology in college after she graduates from Morgan. She’s also planning to continue having good times on the basketball court.
“I hope to play on a club team in college,” says Rachel. “I want to continue playing for fun with a team.”