The quarantine theme for members of the women’s basketball team was a lot of self love and self care. Being isolated produced productivity and time was not wasted. Every moment alone was valued and taken advantage of. 

Senior forward Kassidy Malcolm said she developed new hobbies since basketball was taken away from her. 

“In the springtime, during quarantine I started focusing on yoga,” said Malcolm. “I did yoga in the past but [quarantine] gave me more time to actually do it.”

Malcolm said that it was the perfect time to implement yoga into her life because it allowed her to focus on relaxation and things within the practice.

“I go to Indigo Yoga here in town but since it closed down, the instructor would still do Zoom classes,” Malcolm said. “Instead of doing it in a class, everyone got to do it at home.” 

Another hobby Malcolm started was journaling during her free time. 

“At first I was actually journaling about [COVID-19], because this is crazy,” Malcolm said. “I was doing a timeline, writing down everyday what’s going on today, number of cases and things like that.”

Malcolm said later on in the year she would write down what she is grateful for like her health and her family’s health. She said the whole experience has been eye opening. 

“Life is precious, [I’ve learned] how quickly it can be taken away from you,” Malcolm said.

The third hobby that Malcolm got into was hiking on trails with her sister. 

“I got to hike at Colchuck, Lake Serene, Pete Lake and Yosemite and they looked amazing,” Malcolm said. 

New transfer student and senior guard Kizzah Maltezo said she used her time wisely and decided to work on her mental health, personal health and developing a better nutrition plan. 

“During this whole quarantine I honed in to taking care of myself first,” said Maltezo. “I was sitting there by myself and realized that I need to take care of me.”

Maltezo said she’s not ashamed to acknowledge that she has been struggling. 

“I’ve been struggling with depression and anxiety as a student athlete for a while now, probably for more than two years,” Maltezo said. “2020 was very hard on my mental health but thankfully quarantine was a blessing in disguise. I had the time to practice healthy mental health habits.”

Maltezo said she likes to stay fit and it was definitely hard without basketball practice and workouts. She would work out everyday at the same time so she would have her own set schedule. 

“That was my personal growth, I’ve never had to make my own schedule because I’ve always had people tell me what to do,” Maltezo said. 

Maltezo said she also struggled with eating frequently because she was always on the go and just never had the time. She said she then started to develop her own nutrition plan. 

“I used to only eat once a day, but now I make sure I eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack,” Maltezo said. 

Maltezo said she now enjoys cooking and has been cooking for herself during quarantine. 

“My favorite meal to make is dinner, I’m definitely a dinner person,” Maltezo said. “My favorite dish to make is some roasted veggies, quinoa and a steak.”

The women’s basketball team finished 19-11 after making it to the GNAC tournament. Head coach Randi Richardson-Thornley will lead the Wildcats and have them prepared for the upcoming season.