With Rice’s charisma that seems infectious and positivity that’s effortless, Rice’s leadership seems to have stepped up her game along with her teammates sharing some wins. The two are friends off the court which they both said helped the dynamic of playing and their captainship. She never complains and adds positivity,” Andrews said with a smile. “She brings positive vibes and good energy. “She would always come to practice and be apart of the team,” Andrews said. Captain Tori Andrews said Rice brought a lot of energy even when she was sick. Mattie had mono for tryouts, spent three years off the court, and was out of typical “basketball shape,” but Rice still defied her odds. “I think it really helped that I had a positive attitude and they could tell I was going to be a positive influence there,” she recalled. “I was really really nervous” Rice said, “I got there super early and stretched for super long, but then they were really chill tryouts, and when we were scrimmaging, it just kind of came back to me.” Rice talked about how important it was that she stayed positive throughout tryouts. Rice said that she knew she would have setbacks but went into it positive and with preparation leading up to tryouts. Playing on varsity and being captain may have seemed impractical or out of reach to Rice, but that’s just what she’s doing. During tryouts she also had mono and lots of nerves with three years of lacking experience.
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Rice’s leadership was taken to the court this year when she tried out for the basketball team for the first time in three years. Leadership seems like second nature to Rice with her involvement in student senate and her synagogue.
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She’s a senior at OHS that doesn’t stand out just because of who she is, but because of what she’s done. You could say it’s hard not to spot Mattie Rice. Martens, and her almost six foot height accompanying a confident strut leading to a “hello” in no time.