The Wright State women’s basketball team took on Division III Otterbein in a game that was added to the schedule after a previous game in Maine was cancelled due to inclement weather. This game was a homecoming for former Fairborn High guard Chelsea Reed.
Reed also has connections to Wright State because she was once a teammate of Breanna Stucke in AAU basketball.
“I am excited to get the opportunity to play in my hometown and to get the chance to play against some great players,” said Reed before the game.
Reed had family and former high school teammates cheering her on. Also in attendance was her former high school coach at Fairborn, Steve Hannaford, who has since retired. During Hannaford’s tenure a number of his players went on to play college athletics for a variety of different programs including Marquette, Indiana and Xavier.
“It is great to follow Chelsea and others from my coaching time throughout college. While I was still coaching, I was not able to get out to any games because we were always practicing, playing or scouting. I quit coaching last year to get a new hip. Since then, I got to go up to Otterbein to watch Chelsea's team play Marietta,” said Hannaford.
Reed still stays in contact with her former teammates that went on to play intercollegiate athletics.
“We try to get together every time we are all in town, even if it’s just for a night. Every summer we get together and play a pick up game,” said Reed.
The strengths that Reed displayed in high school have been present in her four years at Otterbein, according to Hannaford.
“Chelsea has tremendous awareness of everything going on the game, it is like having an extra coach on the floor. She has a very high basketball IQ. She is also very competitive. When we watch the game Monday night, we will see just that taking place during the game. Her coach will rely on her to make the right read's (no pun intended) and correct the game plan as necessary,” said Hannaford.
Coming into Monday’s game, Reed has proven her ability to make the right decisions as a passer because she leads the Ohio Athletic Conference in assist at 4.9 per game. Reed agreed that what she learned while playing for Fairborn has carried over to her college career.
“I learned what it was like to be a leader and how to play within a team and what I needed to do to allow any team I’m on to succeed,” said Reed.
Despite her squad losing 104-51 Monday, Reed had a game-high eight assists to go with five points. With much of her senior season left to play, Reed is already fifth on Otterbein's all-time assist list.
Reed had the challenge of guarding Wright State point guard Tay’ler Mingo, who has been scorching defenses this season with 23.9 points per game in Kim Demmings absence.
“It will be quite a challenge for us to defend Tay’ler since she is a threat anywhere on the floor,” Reed said.
Reed’s knowledge of the game will be an asset if she has a future career in coaching, according to Hannaford.
“There is no doubt in my mind, if she chooses, that she will be one of the most successful coaches in basketball, softball or volleyball. We will be able to say, “we knew her when!" She has a great knowledge of the process of developing a winning program, of the game itself and what it takes to win,” said Hannaford.
