By Lauren Cullen
Managing Editor

Senior Hannah Hackley has always dreamed of playing basketball at the college level. Her dream came true when she committed to play basketball in the Division III program at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Hackley, who has been playing basketball since third grade, said she has seriously considered playing in college since before she started her basketball career at Westford Academy.

“I had wanted to play Division I basketball in college since eighth grade,” she said. “But my goals changed when I came to high school and started playing basketball.”

As she got older, Hackley decided to use her basketball skills to help her get into colleges.

“My main aim was to have basketball help me get into a good institution,” she said.

Hackley said that most of the recruiting from coaches was done through her AAU team.

“I was approached by college recruiters mostly at tournaments and on the phone … my coaches did a great job choosing popular tournaments where they could showcase my team,” she said.

Hackley has also worked closely with a private guidance counselor who specializes in helping student athletes find the right college for them, along with her guidance counselor Susan Lynch, and her coaches both on her AAU team and here at WA.

With their help, Hackley started the process of playing basketball in college during her freshman year, and by the  end of her sophomore year, Hackley collected a list of schools she was interested in playing basketball at. The rest of the process was done in the spring of her junior year, which caused some stress for Hackley.

“It has been pretty stressful,” she said. “I had to juggle schoolwork and basketball…along with visits, overnights, and camps.”

Since her commitment on November 28th, Hackley has done three overnights with the current Amherst Women’s Basketball team. During the overnights, she practiced with the team and has gotten to know the coach.

Hackley said she is both excited and also nervous to play at Amherst.

“I know the college style of play is much faster,” she said, “therefore, I will have to work on my strength and conditioning.”

Despite her nerves, Hackley is looking forward to playing at Amherst.

“I am excited to meet a new team, have new experiences, and be able to play for an incredibly competitive and successful DIII program,” she said.