“Let’s go!”
“Get a rebound!”
“Be better!”
5-foot-11 senior guard Holly Blades is the energizer bunny of the University of Portland women’s basketball team. She yells, encourages and pushes her teammates non-stop. But she gains more joy in seeing them play well than herself. Her teammates’ successes are greeted with hugs, chest bumps or her signature: Arms straight out on the sides and a gliding motion like an airplane.
Her energy is what breathes life into a Pilot squad that sits at 4-16 on the season — last place in the West Coast Conference — and has struggled mightily in recent years.
“I want us to play like we don’t have anything to lose because we really don’t,” Blades told The Beacon. “(Our play) might not affect this season that much as far as the ending outcome, but it’s gonna pour over into next season.”
The sharpshooter is second in the WCC in three-pointers made (43) and has bumped up her scoring average to double figures through nine conference games (10.0). But it’s her fiery competitiveness that shoots hope into the Pilots, who haven’t had a winning streak in two seasons.
And it’s a competitive fire cultivated in a small city unknown for sports.
Growing up in Meridian, Idaho — 15 minutes west of Boise — Blades struggled to find the right teams to play for to get national exposure. But she stayed active locally playing multiple sports: Basketball, volleyball and softball. Her childhood was spent following in the footsteps of her older sister, Tiffany. Blades played second base on Tiffany’s softball team despite being three years younger. Tiffany played volleyball in middle school, so she played volleyball when she got to middle school. And Tiffany was a shooter on the basketball court so she wanted to be one, too.
But it wasn’t until sixth grade that three-pointers became Blades’ forte. Her trainer introduced a trick to eliminate her flawed shooting mechanics: Holding a quarter in between the thumb and index finger in the guide hand of her shooting motion. The first week was limited to shooting on the wall and inside the key. Shooting from outside the key wasn’t allowed until two weeks passed.
Today, long-range precision is her bread-and-butter; The top of the key, her sweet spot.
“Every time I miss (a shot), I pretty much know why I missed,” Blades said.
But transitioning to Portland hasn’t come as naturally. She’d always won before coming to the Bluff: Three top-five finishes at the state playoffs in high school. Two region titles at the College of Southern Idaho — The team finished fifth in the country her sophomore year.
Yet for the Pilots, a win is hard to come by. Going 3-29 last season— including a 17-game losing streak— is something the team would like to forget. Low confidence is a constant issue this season. And improvement in practice doesn’t show on the scoreboard come game time. So what does Blades do?
She brings the intensity. No matter what. Even when she feels like she can’t muster the energy, she finds a way.
She’ll guard the best player on the other team. She gets angry at herself for not playing to her personal standards. And she holds her teammates just as accountable, not afraid to yell at them to play better.
But Blades gets most excited for the victories on the court— the solid pass, a mid-range jumper, a lay-up on the fast break— rather than her own three-point feats.
“We kind of joke about it because in game film, we always see her pumping her arm if someone else makes a great play or she’s running down the floor constantly clapping, cheering on her teammates,” head coach Cheryl Sorenson said.
It’s a spirit that is creeping into the whole team. Practices are more enjoyable this year than last. And it goes beyond the hardwood and into the weight room. One player lags behind in weights and three or four teammates come to help with the lift. If someone is sore and needs a foam roller, a teammate will grab one for them. Sports performance coach Griffin Waller often says they act like they truly care for each other.
And this is what Blades takes pleasure in. She knows the team’s success won’t show in the win-loss column this season —They have just four wins through 20 games thus far. Her victory will come by helping set a high standard for Pilots’ in the years to come.
“Even if I’m apart of the restart (of the program), even if it’s not winning, it means something to me,” Blades said.
