SPARTA – When Kennedy Altizer gets the ball, she stares down the passing lanes looking to set up a score.
A senior guard on the Highland girls basketball team, Altizer uses her talents to raise the level of play of her entire team.
"Kennedy loves setting assists and that's definitely her motivation out there on the court," Highland coach Whitney Levering-Smith said. "She's definitely always looking for that pass. I honestly believe — and this goes for all four of our seniors — they are extremely competitive when it comes to their one-on-one stuff, and they always want to come out on top."
Altizer, who along with her team's three other seniors — Maddy Gordon, Savannah Fitzpatrick and Peyton Carpenter — was honored on Senior Night on Saturday, Dec. 19, before their game against visiting Johnstown.
Altizer, along with her teammates and coach, has been a big part of the resurgence of girls basketball at Highland.
"I think it's just hard work," Altizer said. "Every day we come into practice and fight hard. The coaches say, 'If you beat each other up in practice, we're going to do well in the game.' With our young players coming up, it's been getting better and better. With that, we have developed so much as a group from what it used to be. We had one win (in 2012-13). Now we've come all the way up to (16-10 last season). It's been a great transformation."
Altizer and many of her teammates have been playing together since they were in the sixth grade – even longer if one counts the time before they played school ball.
"My biggest motivation is doing it for my friends, my family and my teammates," Altizer said. "We've been working hard our whole lives, since we were little kids. This is really the endpoint. This is what we led up to."
Altizer has no plans to play college basketball at OSU-Marion next season.
"Right now, I really want to focus on the academics," Altizer said. "I want to go into business and finance. I have a pretty good range of options to pick from."
Her motivation in the classroom matches that on the court.
"I just call myself a perfectionist," Altizer said. "I always was taught growing up that school comes first and if you don't get school done, you don't get sports.”
The Scots (2-6) came out flat against Johnstown (3-5). Brooke Barb dropped in 26 points and the Johnnies sailed to a 66-40 win over the host Scots.
Emma West led Highland with 16 points. Altizer didn't score but had four assists.
"I look to pass before I look the score," Altizer said. "I still always look for that tight passing lane to the post all the time. It's my favorite play."
