A family torch has been handed to athlete to play the game of basketball.
Chania Wright, freshman guard, was not fully into the sport growing up, but she used to watch her brother and sister play.
As Wright watched her sister’s team get dominated from the bleachers, she soon realized it was in her blood to compete and she quickly laced up her shoes.
“It looked easy,” Wright said. “I was mad because they were making dumb mistakes that (were) causing them to lose and I wanted to help.”
Since then, Wright started to play in the recreational league in the fourth grade.
She ended her high school career being selected for the Second Team All-District 6-5A in 2017 and First Team All-District 6-5A honoree in 2016. She was rated the 21st-best player in Texas by Dave Campbell’s Texas Basketball Magazine as well as being on the Dallas Morning News Preseason watch list in 2016-17. Wright was also a McDonald’s All-American nominee in 2017 and in 2016 she was the Dallas Coca-Cola Tournament MVP.
Wright averaged 15 points, five rebounds and six assists per game as a senior for DeSoto High School, where she helped lead the team to the quarterfinal round in the 6A Region 1 tournament.
Wright felt that Texas State was a good home for her talent on signing day.
“The environment drew me to Texas State,” Wright said. “The campus was one of the biggest things, as well as the team and the program itself.”
Wright hopes to become a better player while adjusting to the program as a freshman.
“Now I don’t really play as much,” Wright said. “My weaknesses are being consistent and taking plays off, (but) my teammates have helped me learn to go hard with everything (and not) take plays off.”
The Dallas native has a total of 58 points on the season including 32.8 percent shooting from the field, 35.9 percent from the 3-point range and 66.7 percent from free throws. Her biggest game was against The University of Texas at San Antonio, where she made five 3-pointers and one free throw in 22 minutes on the court to help lead the Bobcats to victory.
“One of my strengths is my ability to shoot the ball,” Wright said. “I think I bring in poise, positivity and another scoring option.”
Wright wants to continue to learn and grow with the program and help finish this season strong.