The Lincoln Log

The crowd cheers as junior Monica Washishu heavily dribbles the ball, darting from left to right before throwing a three-pointer. Sweat trickles down from her forehead, and the intensity of the game only thickens as there is still a couple seconds left on the clock. Washishu readies herself after a sip of water, and hits the court.

Washishu plays on Abraham Lincoln High School girl’s varsity basketball team, and has been playing basketball since the second grade. She has plenty of experience on Lincoln’s team, having been on the team since her freshmen year.

She enjoys playing on the basketball team because she gets to play with “a team of friends.” Throughout her years, she modestly believes that her skills in basketball are simply “average.”

Junior Joy San Buentura, who plays alongside Washishu on the varsity team says that, “She is not selfish with the ball and she’s a team player.”

Washishu spends most of her time by practicing on various days during basketball season. Together the team practices by doing lay up drills such as “three-man leads.” A three-man lead is when the team is split into three groups and the ball is passed along until the last person does the lay up, or tosses the basketball into the hoop.

Other than basketball practice is the inevitable – school. She must constantly balance her time between basketball and school, which is difficult for most people her age.

“School is important to me, and I have to keep my grades up on the basketball team,” said Washishu.

Her weekend lifestyle is similar to many teenagers, which consists of staying at home or shopping. She plans on going to college, preferably the University of Hawaii, but does not yet know if she would participate in college basketball.