Mackenna Drazich wanted something different for her senior year of basketball.

Maybe she wanted change due to short minutes off the bench over the past three years or the relationships with teammates.

Looking back over her final season, Drazich realizes change finally came. It started with the first game of the season against Chatham University – she was a starter for the first time in her career. Then she played a career high 28 minutes and shot 43 percent outside the arc.

Change turned to trend; Drazich has started every single game this season and has not played fewer than 21 minutes.

With each game she’s played, Drazich said her confidence has grown.

“Coming in freshman year, it is hard to perform right off the bat,” Drazich said. “Just getting a few minutes at a time – you have to prove yourself in those minutes and that makes it even more scary.”

After 22 games this season, Drazich has proven her point. Scoring double digit points in all but four games this season, she has totaled more points in her final season alone than she had in her first three combined.

Recently, in a 73-57 victory over Westminster, Drazich recorded her first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Even off the court, Drazich said her relationships with her teammates have improved, which started with better communication.

“Understanding how everybody’s mind works on the team [is important],” Drazich said. “[Knowing] what their strengths are and what their weaknesses are…those are all things you can realize by just communicating with each other off the court.”

Through playing the same sport since second grade and developing strong bonds within the team, Drazich said basketball has steered her through college.

“Basketball has made me focus on the right things at the right time,” she said. “Because, I don’t have extra time and I probably wouldn’t be as headstrong as I am now if it wasn’t for basketball.”

One of the biggest reasons she has immense passion for basketball, Drazich said, comes from her father. Before coming to Waynesburg University to eventually study in public relations, her father was either a coach or an assistant coach on every organized team she had been a part of.

With parents who attend every game – even the road games – Drazich said it has meant a lot to her over the past four years.

“I love [having them at games], I couldn’t imagine it another way…” Drazich said. “I knew a lot of people who had parents that just never came to their games, watched them play or achieve different goals and I think that’s sad…but my parents were always there and that meant a lot for me.”

With just a handful of games remaining before Drazich’s collegiate career is over, she said she isn’t focusing on what’s to come, but rather what is left. After a game against Chatham on Wednesday, the Yellow Jackets have three regular season games remaining before their postseason seed is determined.

In the fleeting moments left on the court for Drazich, she said she doesn’t have any clear goal or achievement to work for – but rather whatever role she needs to fill for the team.

Entering the final stretch of the season on an injured roster, Drazich said hardship isn’t unfamiliar with the team. Even so, Drazich said her final season has been her best season, and something that will stick with her when she walks off the court for a final time as a Yellow Jacket.

“There’s always hardships – I may be biased – but this year has been better than the past years,” Drazich said. “I’ve been here and playing amongst my teammates and just the cohesiveness that we have with each other [is special].”