Clear goal for senior 'Dog

Entering her senior year on the hardwood for North Mason High School, Rachel Youngman had a clear goal.

"This year, I was hoping for a better year than last year," the 5-foot-9 guard/forward said. "I just wanted a better season because it's my senior year. It's going great. We have a good team. I'm just proud of how we're doing. We still have a few things to work on, but we're getting there."

Despite a turbulent, COVID-delayed junior season in which the Bulldogs' girls basketball coach quit during the first week of practice, Youngman earned the Shelton-Mason County Journal's All-County Most Valuable Player honor for girls basketball as the Bulldogs' leading scorer.

"Rachel is one of our senior leaders and she is a best on defense," North Mason coach Alex Fitzhugh wrote in an email. "She handles the role very well and keeps her composure during tough times."

Youngman poured in a season-high 19 points in a season-opening road win at Oakville and then added 18 in the Bulldogs' 72-39 Mason County Cup rivalry win over Shelton on Dec. 20. She's scored in double figures in five of North Mason's six games, averaging 13.7 points.

"The strongest part of Rachel's game is speed and her ability to cover so much ground in the blink of an eye," Fitzhugh wrote. "She will drive to the basket if the open shot is not there. She's a very fundamental basketball player."

North Mason is 2-4 overall, but two of those losses were by single digits. The Bulldogs, who return to action at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday hosting Olympic High School, are focusing on turning what could be close losses into wins.

"Finishing our layups and making our free throws is what we need to work on most, it's kicking us in the butt when we go 29% from the line and lose by eight," Fitzhugh wrote. "I have been working with the girls since the 2019 season, so all my seniors were sophomores when I first started coaching at North Mason. The trust is already there and as a new coach, I'm trying to bring a new mindset when it comes to sports, especially basketball. I'm a very intense coach when it comes to practice, but the girls are learning how to play together better and we are getting better every game."

Youngman, who also competes for the Bulldogs' girls soccer and girls tennis teams, says basketball is her favorite sport.

"I just love the sport," Youngman said. "I love the people who play and just having a good team makes the sport so much fun. I get to run and be very aggressive and just try my hardest and do better each time. I just love it."

It's a mutual feeling with Youngman's teammates, a group that includes five seniors in addition to Youngman.

"I've played with Rachel for about 10 years," senior guard Jill Maiuri wrote in an email to the Journal. "She is super sweet and loves basketball. She is motivated, working on her own during the offseason to better her game. I'm loving playing our senior year together."

Youngman's older brother played hockey for a while but she wasn't old enough to play with him. She said her competitiveness and love for sports was something that developed on its own.

"Other than (my brother), none of my family really played sports," Youngman said. "I was just kind of on my own and took it on."

Youngman said one of the biggest challenges of her career has been the changes caused by the pandemic.

"Ever since my sophomore year, it just caught me off-guard because of how different things went from playing with masks and stuff. Just so many opportunities were, in my view, taken away," Youngman said. "I really just want to do better than last year. I really hope to play college basketball if I get the opportunity. Everything I'm doing, leading up to now, I'm trying to (have a chance) to play college ball.

"I'm just really proud of our team and I really hope we do good."

Author Bio

Justin Johnson, Editor

Shelton-Mason County Journal & Belfair Herald
Email: [email protected]