Posted on 10 January 2013 by La Habra Journal
In the La Habra girls basketball team’s final nonleague game against California High, Jan. 4, the Lady Highlanders found out just how important 
can be to the team’s success.
Allyson, one of the team’s primary scorers, returned from an ankle injury that kept her out of the team’s previous two games to score 35 points against the Lady Condors in a 61-51 victory.
Since then, she’s continued returning to her old form.
“She plays a big role on the team, ultimately when you have a scorer, it benefits everyone and our main focus has been keeping her healthy so that she can contribute,” said Jim Bohn, La Habra head coach. “She has a good supporting cast that gets her those opportunities. Her staying under control and consistent is huge for this team.”
Against Cal High, Allyson not only wanted to return to old form, the senior said she also wanted to prove to her teammates that she was back to where she was before the injury and hoped it would help the team battle after four losses in La Habra’s previous five games.
As the team’s scoring leader during her junior year and providing considerable support during her sophomore season, Allyson knew that this was her year to be a leader.
While in that role, however, Allyson set some high standards for herself entering her senior season.
“I focused on being consistent and not dropping from a 30-point game to a seven-point game,” she said. “If I am having a bad game, I focus more on my defense more than scoring and getting my teammates involved.”
Bohn sees Allyson as a hard worker in practice, adding that she handles herself very well on and off the court.
In that hard work, the senior has expanded her game, another trait that Bohn has noticed.
“I think she’s learned from different coaching styles that it’s not all on her shoulders,” Bohn said. “She works a lot of different aspects of the game, she’s well-rounded. She can post up, shoot it from the outside and she can handle the ball well too. She’s not as vocal, but what she does on the court speaks for itself.”
During practice, Allyson expands on her leadership role with the desire to help her teammates get better with the help of her extended experience at the varsity level.
“I know that during my freshman and sophomore year, I had something to put on my shoulders,” she said. “But I want to make everyone better around me and try to help as much as possible. It’s gotten better through my senior year with talking and helping people out.”
With Allyson returning to form and those around her showing improvement, teams may need to take notice as the team continues into league play.
While the senior does spend a lot of time in the gym fine tuning her skills, when she finds time, she enjoys snowboarding and hanging out with friends.
While in school, Allyson enjoys math despite getting stuck on a concept every now and then.
And when it comes to role models, Allyson looks up to her cousin, Kelly Schumacher, a former WNBA and UConn basketball player, who has shown her some of the aspects of reaching the next level.
“She’s helped me a lot throughout my basketball career now that she’s retired,” Allyson said. “She was out in California and set me up with all the trainers and other people, it was a good experience to talk to her, someone who has been through it all.”
Allyson is still looking over options when it comes to college, but she said Whittier College is a back up plan if all else fails.
But Bohn believes that Allyson’s skill set is a good tool to get her to the next level and beyond, as long as she stays focused.
“She’s a good kid, level-headed and as long as she stays focused and consistent, she’ll be successful in the future both on and off the court,” Bohn said.
As for the remainder of this season, the senior has plans to build upon last season, where the Lady Highlanders fell at home in the first round of the CIF-SS playoffs.
“I hope to get to the second or third round of CIF,” she said. “I know we can do it from the beginning of our season, we have the potential. We definitely want to come back from that loss to Sonora, too.”
