Ella Anthony ’21 is a postgraduate and co-captain of Girls Varsity Basketball. Last winter, she led the Horace Mann girls basketball team to its first state championship in school history. Teammate Jordyn Harrison ’22 said, “Ella Anthony is a great athlete with a strong work ethic. She has contributed so much to the team in her first year here! She’s like another coach on the floor and is always there to lend a hand to a teammate. She’s a walking bucket.”

What led you to begin to play basketball?

I come from a basketball family, so I grew up around basketball. I was always a big fan, but I did not start playing until middle school after trying out pretty much every other sport available to me.

What is your favorite part of playing basketball?

I am a very competitive person, so anything where I get to compete makes me feel like I’m in my element. When you train so hard for something, and you get good enough at it that you can dictate the pace of the game and the way things are going, it becomes more enjoyable. So, I also like the control I have over basketball, but at the same time there’s this uncertainty that I also love. 

What influenced your decision to play basketball at Hotchkiss?

I decided to do a postgraduate year during my junior year of high school. One of the first schools that reached out to me was Loomis-Chaffee; I was going to go there, because I had already applied and gotten in. But my step-dad had attended Hotchkiss, and he asked me, “Why don’t you just go visit.” When I went on the visit, I loved it, and it just felt right after visiting. 

How has leading and playing on the team been this year?

It has been a fun challenge. At my old high school, I got to play with girls for four years, some of them even longer, from back in middle school. We started from the bottom, and by my Senior year we were able to win the state championship. Coming to Hotchkiss, it is not that there is a difference in talent level at all, but these are girls I had never played with before and girls who had never played with me. Before coming, I didn’t know if people would like me, but they welcomed me onto the team with open arms. When Head Coach Michael Hickey appointed me and Holly Knight ’21 as captains of the team, everyone was happy for us, even though they barely knew me. Everyone has just made the team feel like a family. I also have to credit Coach Hickey and Assistant Coach Parker Reed, but most importantly, all the girls on the team.

Do you have a favorite memory or a highlight from the season so far?

Just practicing with everybody. I really appreciate it now, because after class or in between classes, I will be looking out my window and I will see the little basketball hoop outside of VS and I just feel lucky to be able to play right now with the girls, because so many people don’t have that right now. 

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.