By Blake Chadwick

Basketball is a game of who wins and who loses, and a lot of times, the fun of it all gets lost in the competition. Minneapolis senior Maggie Shupe has set out to put the fun back into basketball.

“One of my biggest goals this year is to be a player who just enjoys the game,” Shupe said. “Over the past few years, I have felt like I was more playing to win rather than just because I genuinely wanted to play. When I wasn’t having fun, I could tell others weren’t either, and that’s not what sports are about. This year, I plan on being the player who just enjoys being with her teammates and playing the game she loves.”

The senior knows that her energy can be infectious for the whole team as a senior and a captain.

“My co-captain and I are really excited for this year and are going to try our best to lead by example and hopefully extend our season into March,” Shupe said.

Despite being a really good teammate and person, Shupe is always seen as one of the toughest on the court.

“I think one of the biggest reasons I’m able to have such a tough mindset is because I’m the youngest in my family,” Shupe said.  My sisters and I always were competing and wrestling with each other, and they didn’t take it easy on me. I also always want to do the most for my team, and I discovered that I can do that on the defensive side. I want to produce as many turnovers for my team to score off of since we score more on the run. I love that we have to put all our trust in each other during defense because if one of us slips up, the others are there to help.”