The chance to play was good enough reason to stay
As children, many of us dreamed of growing up and moving away from home to attend college. For some, that dream never came true and for others, it just happened later than expected. For Rachel Scoggins this dream just hasn’t come true yet. Scoggins, a freshman at USU Eastern, always thought she would graduate high school and attend college somewhere farther than 10 minutes away from home, but plans changed as she grew up and got the opportunity to be a part of the lady Eagles’ basketball team.
This archived article was written by: Whitney Fieldsted
As children, many of us dreamed of growing up and moving away from home to attend college. For some, that dream never came true and for others, it just happened later than expected. For Rachel Scoggins this dream just hasn’t come true yet. Scoggins, a freshman at USU Eastern, always thought she would graduate high school and attend college somewhere farther than 10 minutes away from home, but plans changed as she grew up and got the opportunity to be a part of the lady Eagles’ basketball team.
For those who don’t know Scoggins, she is someone you would love to have in your life. High school friend and fellow student at USU Eastern, Amanda Freestone said, “Rachel is one of the nicest people I know. She is always looking for people to help and is a lot of fun to be around. She also works really hard in everything that she does.”
Scoggins was raised in the small town of Spring Glen, Utah with her three brothers and two sisters. She is the third child in her family and lives with them. “I wanted to leave, but decided to stay at home for the first couple of years to save money and play basketball,” she said.
Scoggins isn’t the girl with just one love. She loves the outdoors and goes hiking and hunting whenever she can. Scoggins also enjoys playing volleyball. She was part of her high school team and still gets to enjoy that when she helps her mom coach volleyball and basketball at Helper Jr. High. The rest of Scoggins’ free time is on the basketball court.
“Basketball has always come easy to me. I love the contact aspect of the game, and it is always fun,” she said. Spectators watching the game can even tell she enjoys every minute she is on the court.
She plays the three position for the women’s team this year and as a shooting guard, she isn’t afraid to shoot ball when open. She comes off the bench when called upon and helps the lady Eagles out on the court. She has hit some shots at crucial points in a couple of games this season. In a home game against Colorado Northwestern Community College, she drained three shots in a row from down town to give the lady Eagles a decent lead on CNCC.
Her statistics come nowhere near explaining how hard she works when in a game, even if it is only for a couple minutes. Defensive Coach, Dan Allan made the comment that Scoggins has learned to play at a high level for a freshman and plays with great intensity and confidence.
