Emma DeHart said she had challenges playing basketball in high school. The coaches didn’t trust her to play well and she had to change coaches three times, but she loved the consistency of playing and the teamwork associated with the game.

Now she’s one of three captains of the women’s basketball team. Though she probably wouldn’t have started playing if it wasn’t for her brothers playing the game first.

“Honestly, I have a younger brother and an older brother, so I’m put in between them,” DeHart said. “So really, just being around them all the time kind of made me like sports and I just fell in love with basketball.”

DeHart, a junior guard, is double majoring in elementary education and special education. She graduated from Southport High School in Indianapolis, where she scored 1000 points.

“My junior year, we played Wilmington South and we won double overtime,” DeHart said. “And now I’m teammates with Addy. So that was pretty fun. And then I scored a thousand points my senior year.”

DeHart has a goal to win twenty games per season and win the conference tournament before she graduates next year.

“I got to go to the NCAA in my freshman year, we made it to the NCAA’s but we only played one game,” DeHart said. “So going far in the tournament, that would be a huge goal for us.”

DeHart said she’s never been alone on the court. Her team is always there to back her up because if she doesn’t make a basket, there will always be someone there to help her out.

“That’s the nicest thing because even if you waver on anything, you always have teammates to pick you up and you’re always trying to win because it’s a very competitive sport,” DeHart said.

Rick Stein, head coach of the women’s basketball team, said there are three team captains, two of them are seniors and the other one is a junior, Emma DeHart. He said DeHart gained the team’s respect right away, which doesn’t always happen.

“As a freshman, she saw limited minutes but did get action in some critical moments that I think helped her to just grow as a player and she really blossomed as a sophomore,” Stein said. ”She just raised her level to play on another level. I can think of so many of the other intangibles of what she brings. It’s been fun to watch her improve and grow.” 

DeHart has come a long way but she’s pushing herself to work harder and go the extra mile when playing.

“I would tell my high school self to work harder because knowing how hard I work here,” DeHart said. “I’ve gotten so much better since I’ve been here. I think I would just push to the extra level.”