PLYMOUTH, N.H. — In her days as a student-athlete at Lynn Classical, Chenysse Hill was a standout member of the Rams soccer, basketball and outdoor track teams. After setting a strong platform for herself in high school, Hill’s now looking to do the same in college at Plymouth State.
A reserve point guard for the women’s basketball team at Division III Plymouth State, Hill’s learning the ropes of what it takes to run an offense at the college level while contributing with key minutes off the Panthers’ bench. The Panthers are 2-2 on the 2017-2018 season, after wins over Rivier and Plattsburgh State.
Hill, a sophomore, saw 14 minutes of action in the season-opening victory over Rivier and made the most of her time. The 2016 Classical graduate scored four points to go along with three assists, three rebounds and two steals.
“We’re in a really good position right now,” Hill, a Lynn native, said. “We won our first game and then we went to the Cardinal Classic Tournament in New York and won a game there. We lost a game by one point to Castleton. Now we have to keep finding ways to win. We just have to keep our focus and limit turnovers by taking care of the ball.”
A standout on the court for the girls basketball team at Classical, Hill was a four-year member of the Rams varsity squad. As a senior, she earned the trust of Classical coach Tom Sawyer, and assistant Helen Ridley, and was named a team captain.
“Playing at Classical was a great experience,” Hill said. “Me and my teammates created a great bond together through my years playing there. The team was great.”
After excelling as Classical’s point guard, Hill joined the women’s basketball team at Plymouth State. She cited Panthers coach Allison Flynn, as well as the school’s location, as two of the driving forces that convinced Hill to choose Plymouth State.
“Coach Flynn definitely played a big role,” Hill said. “She was one of the factors. She was on top of me throughout that entire summer. I also wanted to be out of state. I had a few other options that were closer to home but I chose to be out of state.”
Last season, Hill’s freshman year with the Panthers, was an up and down year for Plymouth State. The Panthers won their season opener but then slid into a seven-game losing streak before opening Little East Conference play. They finished 8-17, 5-9 against LEC opponents, and saw their season end after a 59-42 loss to Western Connecticut in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament .
This year, Hill noted, the goal is to win more games by developing a positive approach regardless of results.
“We want to win more games,” Hill said. “We want to develop a positive attitude, even when we lose games. We lost a lot of close games last year, some by one or two points. One of our biggest goals is to focus on our mistakes in those losses and correcting them moving forward.”
Hill’s freshman season was stymied by a knee injury that kept her from playing at full strength. The injury forced Hill to miss 10 of Plymouth State’s 25 games last season. Individually, her goal for the 2017-2018 season is to get back to 100 percent.
“My biggest goal is to get back to full strength,” Hill said. “I want to work more on my defense, pushing the ball and working together with my teammates. I think this will be a better season for us than last season. I feel the team connects much better this year.”
Despite the injury, Hill saw enough playing time to learn the differences between high school and college basketball as she made the leap to the collegiate level.
“It was good to get some playing time,” Hill said. “College basketball is much more different than high school. It’s an elevated level of competition.
“I was a point guard for three seasons at Classical,” Hill added. “I wasn’t a very talkative player back then but I’ve gotten much better at communicating and being patient with my teammates.”
This season, the Panthers will rely on their guards to lead the charge. Hill believes the team’s guards, along with improved shooting, will lead to more wins.
“We have a lot of guards so we like to push the ball a lot of this year,” Hill said. “We’re great at running the floor. Our shooting has also improved. We push the ball and shoot. I feel that we’re going to be a much more competitive team this season.”
Academically, Hill, a physical education major, is learning from the growing pains she experienced in balancing schoolwork with basketball during her freshman year. It wasn’t easy but the lessons she learned in time management as a freshman are paying dividends now in Hill’s sophomore year.
“It’s tough going to class all day, going to practice and then studying late,” Hill said. “It’s tough repeating that every day. It can be difficult but you have to be able to find time in between class. Time management is very important, college professors take their classes very seriously.
“It’s important not to hold off assignments,” Hill added. “When I was a freshman, I learned from that mistake. It was a tough adjustment.”
Hill and the Panthers are back in action tonight when they travel to Westfield State.
