Junior Claire Baguley, in her quest for greatness, starts her days before most students.

“I get up in the morning and go and train for basketball with a private trainer,” Claire said.”Then I go home, shower, and quickly get ready for school.”

From training every day to playing both club at MBA and for the school team, Claire’s passion is blatantly obvious: basketball.

And she doesn’t just love the thrill of the win or the pride of being a great player. Claire plays for all the “little victories.”

“I play a guard, or a wing; I get the ball and I can drive to the basket, shoot outside, put up screens, just kind of do everything,” Claire said. “I like the high pressure and high intensity of it. How there are little victories like rebounding, steals, and taking a charge.”

Along with the rest of the school basketball program, Claire will be taking part in a fundraiser to support mental health.

“I’m helping with the basketball fundraising game for mental health awareness. We’ll be having a three on three tournament, doing theme days, and selling shirts,” Claire said.

While basketball is a prominent part of her life, Claire always has time for her friends, family, and other hobbies like cooking.

“I like to cook; although, it’s hard to find the time,” she said. “But I have cooked dinner for my friends before. I help my mom make dinner sometimes. I like making sweet and sour chicken and lettuce wraps.”

She also plays soccer with a local group. She started both soccer and basketball and the same time as a child. And while basketball may have won out as her overall favorite, Claire has never lost her love for soccer as well.

She hopes to study physical therapy or possibly become a physician’s assistant when she graduates. However, she continues to keep an open mind knowing that she could decide to do something different at any second.

“I’m interested in health sciences but I don’t love blood and gore,” Claire said. “So those are two careers where you are still in the health field but you don’t have to deal with all of that.”

No matter what she decides to do, she is sure of one thing: she wants to keep playing basketball in college.

“I want to play basketball in college wherever that may be,” Claire said. “Maybe a small D1 school or D2 or D3 school. I want it to be a good fit for me academically and then obviously I want to play basketball.”