Webster County is coming off a 29 win season where they fell in the Regional finals to a Henderson County team they had beaten 3 times already that season. Senior guard Marissa Austin plans to lead the Lady Trojans to…
Webster County is coming off a 29 win season where they fell in the Regional finals to a Henderson County team they had beaten 3 times already that season. Senior guard Marissa Austin plans to lead the Lady Trojans to Rupp Arena in 2020. Webster is loaded this season, returning all but one player off last season’s roster and Marissa is one of four Senior leaders for the Webster team. Austin will be a top returner in the 2nd Region after averaging 14.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game as a Junior. She’s already eclipsed the 1,000 point mark for her career and could get close to 2,000 with a big Senior season. She described her game to me as a “Left-handed PG who loves to get in the lane & finish or create for my teammates. At the same time, I love to knock down the 3 when defenders play off me. I love to play on the ball defense & love to press.” As a Junior, Marissa shot 36% from three and 44% overall and she told me that her biggest strengths on the floor are, “My speed & ability to get to the rim and the range on my threes.”
Marissa Austin is a rarity in high school sports these days. She is the rare three sport athlete. When I asked her how she juggles being so involved, Marissa was very blunt in her response, “Honestly, that is my greatest challenge. I live a very busy life. My parents & coaches are very supportive. My coaches work well with one another in dividing up the schedule. My other two sports help me in different ways in basketball; soccer helps me with my footwork & tennis helps me with hand-eye coordination. I feel very fortunate to have made All-Region in all three sports last year.” In addition to playing basketball, soccer and tennis, Austin also played AAU this summer with Kentucky Clutch. She told me, “We had a really good AAU season. It was my 2nd year with Kentucky Clutch & we played well together. We had a good balance of guards & forwards who are versatile & can play multiple positions.” After her AAU season, she holds a scholarship from Oakland City University and she hopes more offers come her way soon. As far as the next level, Marissa hopes to play basketball over her other two sports, “My priority is to play basketball in college, however, I’m open to whatever opportunity presents itself.”
Before she can reach the collegiate level, the point guard has to get through her Senior season at Webster County. Her goals for her final year as a Lady Trojan are clear for the lefty floor general, “I want to win 20+ games for the 5th year in a row, win our 4th straight District Championship and win the Region to get to Rupp. As an individual, I hope to improve my rebounding and court vision as well as my 3-Point field goal percentage.” Working towards those goals, Marissa is working to shore up some of her deficiencies. The lefty PG is trying to improve her help side defense and told me that “There’s always room for improvement on both sides of the ball; whatever it takes.” Marissa is already a top player in Western Kentucky and is working to get her team to Rupp Arena to finish her already stellar career. To get there, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to improve her own game and lift her team up as well. Webster County is definitely a team to watch this season and Marissa Austin is a big reason why.