Paige Wright said the aspect of Vulcan basketball she would miss the most was her teammates and coaches.
Wright expressed that she thought her senior season was amazing. “There was a lot that happened and I wouldn’t have wanted to do it with any other girls than this team,” she said.
In a way, Wright was the only senior on the team, but in a way she wasn’t. She was the only senior player to dress and go for action on the court, while Brittany Nelson and Lana Doran were both out for the year with injuries. Nelson’s injury occurred during the preseason, while Doran’s occurred right when the preseason was ending.
“It was kind of hard,” she said. “For most of the preseason, Lana was with us, and when we were on the court together it was really good. However, I did have Miki Glenn, who was also a leader on the court. Everyone knows how to play with each other, so it wasn’t too difficult.”
Wright, who first went to Division II school Saginaw Valley State and then transferred to Owens Community College in Ohio, came to Cal U in 2014. She said that Saginaw was a bit bigger than Cal U, but was excited to come to Cal U and loved her new coach, Jess Strom.
“I really loved coach Jess,” Wright said. “She’s taught me how to be really tough and how to be a leader. She taught me how to be disciplined in every area of every aspect. She’s also really fun and really loving. She’ll always give you a second chance even if you don’t deserve it.”
Wright said she was ecstatic whenever the Vulcans won the PSAC Tournament and said she enjoyed her time in the NCAA Tournament. As for her favorite game of her senior season, she recalled her time playing against Indiana University of Pennsylvania on ESPN cameras.
“The atmosphere was amazing and we played great,” she said. “Whenever I play in front of big crowds, I don’t really notice it. But it was pretty cool.”
Wright will graduate this spring with a Bachelor’s degree in communication studies. She said she is still figuring out where she wants to go to graduate school out, but hopes to still be a part of the basketball environment when in grad school.