Forget SpongeBob or The Power Rangers, Samantha Moore has basketball to play.
That’s how it went, still goes, in the Moore household. Now a senior at Mullen High School Samantha grew up in a family that values all sports, especially basketball, and treasures the chance to compete. So, say, if you are going to beat your brothers in game of horse or maybe some 1-on-1 a girl’s gotta sharpen her skills, regardless of the sacrifices.
“I am so glad that I was playing basketball or watching basketball instead of watching cartoons,” says Samantha. “Instead of messing around with electronics I go outside an shoot some hoops, lots of times by myself, lots of times against my dad or my older brother. Being as closely involved in basketball as I have been I have a real appreciation for the game and what it takes to be successful.”
Sam has certainly been a successful basketball player and her team has also soared in recent seasons, qualifying for state during both her sophomore and junior seasons. She’s certainly done her part to elevate the Broncos’ stock, earning all-state honors both those seasons with her all-around brilliance this season sure to make it a trifecta.
Which takes us back to her love for the game, which is rooted in family tradition. Her father, the late Rusty Moore, was a longtime Mullen coach and led the Broncos to the 2017 Class D-2 state championship. Sam’s older brother Lance was the all-state point guard on that championship team and her younger brother Clayton is a rising star for the wildly successful Mullen boys basketball team. That’s a lot of basketball in the house and Sam fits right in, never giving an inch when it comes time to compete or to learn about the game.
“I feel like being around my dad and his practices and playing against Lance gave me a real understanding of the game,” says Samantha. “By the time I reached high school I felt like I knew some things about the game a normal freshman might not. That comes from having knowledgeable people around me.”
And she’s put that knowledge to good use, stepping right in as a quality player that freshman season, averaging 10 points, five rebounds and four steals per game. And from there it’s been a steady upward arch for both her personal career and the Mullen girls basketball program, as last winter at the state tournament she reached 1,000 career points (she’s now broken the 1,400 point barrier and rising) and her team earned its first-ever state tournament victory.
That victory at state came at one of the darkest moments in young Sam’s life, and that of her family, as her beloved father Rusty Moore died just 10 days earlier. Immediately after Rusty’s passing both the Mullen girls and boys basketball teams qualified for state, with Clayton’s last-second shot block sealing the boys’ district final win. Truly, it was like the popular T-shirts read, Moore than a game, Moore than a win, Moore than a team, Moore like family.
“It was pretty rough but I knew the girls would have my back,” she said of her playing in the district final just four days after her father’s death. Mullen beat Leyton that emotional day, then beat BDS in the opening round of the Class D-2 state tournament, the program’s first win at state. “At state all I knew was he’d have been really upset if I didn’t play hard. I could hear his voice in the back of my head so I did the best I could and we won the game. I know he liked that.”
Her basketball smarts are at the core of her very impressive game, one which includes great versatility and the ability to master all facets of the game. Samantha can, and does, play all five positions on the floor and while she could hog the ball and score a bazillion points her’s a more complete game, as she’s averaging 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and more than four steals per game.
“Our whole way of playing the game is to attack other team’s weaknesses. All of our girls can play different positions and we look for the best match-ups and attack. Basically I just play where Coach (Clint Svoboda) says the team needs me,” says Samantha. “Some nights that means I will need to score more than others but I have a lot of confidence in my teammates. I am surrounded by great three-point shooters and they all can play well in big moments.”
Born in North Platte, Samantha also has a younger natural sister in seventh grade and a foster sister in eighth grade. The Moores ranch up northwest of North Platte a ways - Lance has come home to help run the place - and she loves that lifestyle, especially getting out to ride her horses and having the chance, “to check out the views.”
Samantha earns straight As in the classroom, is a four-year starter in volleyball and a two-time qualifier for state track, as a sophomore finishing fourth in the 300 meter hurdles. She is a member of National Honor Society, TeamMates, her church youth group and FCCLA. Samantha recently signed to play Division II basketball at UN-Kearney where she plans to study either education (maybe she’ll be come a junior high math teacher) or accounting (and become an accountant like her uncle, Jeff Moore.)
Entering tomorrow’s D2-10 subdistrict final Samantha’s team is 22-2 and No. 4 in the wild card standings. A run at a state final, which would be a first in Mullen girls basketball history, seems a distinct possibility. Which is nice, but not all, says Sam.
“With my high school career almost over I am looking forward to making more memories with my teammates - I know they will be great no matter what they are. A state championship is the dream but there are bigger things in life.”
