Princeton senior guard Mariah Hart is averaging 16.6 points through five District 6-6A basketball games. Photo by Jerry Winfrey / C&S Media
By David Wolman
Princeton senior point guard Mariah Hart and senior forward Terrayah McCoy are well-versed in mastering the no-look pass.
During the second quarter of a road game at Plano East on Nov. 26, Hart saw McCoy out of the corner of her eye. Hart briefly looked away from McCoy so that the Plano East defenders didn’t pick up on what she wanted to do.
Moments later, before Plano East had time to react, Hart threw a no-look, diagonal pass from the left side of the court to McCoy, who was positioned a few feet away from the basket. McCoy gained control of the pass and made a layup.
Turns out, Hart and McCoy have been executing the no-look pass since before high school. Their on-court chemistry has come as the result of having played together since they were in elementary school. Their chemistry grew more when they played on the same AAU team, It’s Fox Nation GUAA.
“Mariah and (Chandler Evans) probably have 100s of assists to Terrayah,” said Carla Denning, Princeton head coach. “It’s been Mariah her whole life. It’s insane to watch.”
All of the assists that Hart has recorded during her standout four-year varsity career with Princeton has come as the result of hard work in the gym. She’s also a student of the game.
Hart says that she models her game after Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic. Whether it a no-look pass, step-back 3-pointer or drive to the basket for a shot attempt, Hart has been watching Doncic play since he was drafted by the Mavericks with the third overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
“The Mavs are my favorite team,” Hart said. “When he came to the Mavs, I started watching him and he was the youngest on the team and nobody knew what he’s going to do, and I feel like at that time, he became my favorite.”
And just like how Doncic was one of the youngest players in the NBA when he was in his first season with the Mavericks, Hart was a freshman on a Princeton team that was senior-heavy.
Yet, for as competitive and confident as Hart was, she admitted that she put too much pressure on herself. Not only did she want to make a good impression on her teammates but also be a prolific scorer. There were a few times when she got frustrated, but she credited the seniors on the team for believing in her.
Hart said that Kaitlyn McKenna, a 2022 Princeton graduate, told her to keep shooting, even when the shots weren’t falling.
“I wanted the offers. I wanted the 1,000 points. I wanted to score a lot. I wanted to do everything,” Hart said. “But those seniors made me believe in myself. I learned from Kaitlyn that I can’t make every shot. Kaitlyn was just, all-around, helping me out because I was one of the younger ones on varsity. She was one of the main people who told me to keep shooting, even when the shots weren’t going in. Looking back at it, she was right.”
Hart also spent time working on getting in better shape. She lost 40 pounds from the end of her freshman season to the beginning of her sophomore year. Hart said that the weight loss helped her to become faster.
“I was a little slow, but I’ve been focused on it and can see the growth in that area of my game,” she said. “I feel like that’s why I’ve picked up offers because I’ve focused on my conditioning and speed more.”
On Nov. 13, Hart signed a National Letter of Intent to play women’s college basketball for the University of New Orleans.
“They believed in me,” she said. “They know that I’m a bigger guard. “I’m not as fast as everybody, but they see my IQ, see how I can break down other players.”
In the interim, Hart will look to help lead Princeton to big things in the team’s first season in Class 6A.
Last season, the Lady Panthers played in their first-ever regional final and finished with a 28-11 record. Hart was named to the all-district first team for the second year in a row. She was an all-District 10-5A honoree as a freshman.
“Nobody ever thought that small-town Princeton could come up and go just as far as we did,” Hart said. “We were beating teams, and they were like, ‘Where are y’all from?’ But we had that chemistry.”
With Evans, Hart, McCoy, Sifuentes and junior forward Leah Bradley all returning for Princeton this season, the Lady Panthers believe that they have the right mix of players to compete in their new district and make another long playoff run.
Princeton was picked to finish fourth in District 6-6A in the TABC preseason poll. Through five district games, the Lady Panthers are 4-1, highlighted by an overtime win over Allen, a game in which the Lady Panthers rallied from a 14-point deficit. Hart is averaging 16.6 points per game during district play, including a 20-point outing in a 73-31 win over McKinney on Dec. 6.
“I’m going to put everything on the line when I’m on the court to help us win,” Hart said.
0 Comments