WHITWELL, Tenn. – Whitwell High School senior Maddie Zensen’s love of basketball has helped her persevere for the Lady Tigers.
A shooting guard who has averaged 14 points per game and shot 48% from 3-point range this season, Zensen has also shaken her fist at adversity by overcoming obstacles that nearly prevented her from taking the court again, including ACL injuries to each knee that took away her freshman and junior seasons.
In Thursday night’s homecoming game for the Lady Tigers, a 63-12 win against Bledsoe County, Zensen showed off her smooth stroke from long range as she made three of Whitwell’s nine 3-pointers in a 51-point first half. She finished with a game-high 13 points.
“Playing the game I love means everything to me,” said Maddie, who was an all-state and Times Free Press Best of Preps selection her sophomore season, when she scored 515 points.
“It has been a hard and long journey coming back from two ACL injuries. I didn’t think I was going to get to play at all this year, either, because I tweaked my knee at a summer camp. I thought I was done, but I kept rehabbing and the pain went away and I feel great. Every game is just a blessing.”