Freshman Guard Amanda Hughes finds family on the court
By: ALYSSA MCCUTCHAN
Staff Writer
With a 23-6 record, the Lady Archers finished the 2014-15 regular season on a five-game winning streak, as they head into the Region XVI Tournament.
Freshman guard Amanda Hughes is one of the new additions to the team this year.
Hughes moved to St. Louis last fall from Marshalltown, Iowa to be a part of the women’s team.
Hughes said she has found the move to be a good one.
“I really do like St. Louis a lot,” Hughes said.
Hughes began playing basketball in third grade at the Parks and Recreation Center in Marshalltown. However, it was not until Hughes was in fifth grade that a true love of the game was born.
“They didn’t have it [basketball] for the school. It was something you signed up for,” Hughes said. “My dad and I used to watch [University of Missouri-Columbia] Mizzou games together when I was younger and I think I wanted to impress him. So I would practice in the driveway and then I really started to enjoy it.”
Growing up Hughes said that she has always been competitive. And that competitiveness carries over onto the basketball court.
“I like the competition,” Hughes said. “I’ve always been really competitive and I enjoy being on a team and working with other people.”
Hughes said that her teammates are the one of the reasons why she enjoys St. Louis.
“The most fun part of coming to St. Louis and joining the team was meeting new people,” Hughes said. “The hardest thing would be getting used to the traffic and having to manage my time a lot more because of it.”
Having several other offers from schools in different states, Hughes had many factors that went into the decision of becoming and Archer.
“The cost was one of the biggest reasons [why I chose STLCC]. They offered the most money compared to tuition,” Hughes said. “I really like the coaches too. They are really friendly and they know what they are talking about. They want the best for you as an individual player.”
In regards to the relationships between the teammates, Hughes compared the team to having 11 close sisters.
“I am closest with my roommate Abbey [Holtkamp],” Hughes said.
Off of the court, Hughes said her most memorable moment with her teammates this season came during their trip to Florida, where the Lady Archers played two games, over the span of the first couple days of the new year.
“We were at the beach and saw several dead jellyfish,” Hughes said. “As a team we wrote ‘Jellyfish RIP. From STLCC women’s basketball team’ in the sand. It was really fun.”
Basketball however is not the only reason for Hughes’s move to St. Louis.
“I know people here,” Hughes said. “I wanted to live in a city and STLCC had the degree I wanted — Health Information Management. My dad works in a hospital. After doing some research of my own, I thought it sounded like something I would really want to do.”
After her years of wearing the navy blue and silver, Hughes said she does not know if basketball will be in her future after graduating from STLCC.
When deciding where to continue an education, Hughes said her focus is on career above athletics.
“I want to go where they have my degree,” Hughes said.
Regardless of what the future has in store for her, Hughes said that she will always remember her 2014-15 teammates. And next season, her talent on the court, will continue to grow.
“I’m looking forward to improving my skills,” Hughes said. “Next season, I hope to have improved my defensive and being more aggressive skills.”
