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Sharpshooter
extraordinaire
Shooters are going to shoot. And when they start making their shots, they’re going to keep on shooting.
Such is the case for Putnam Science Academy’s Delaney Haines, a sharpshooter extraordinaire, whose confidence is going through roof after a recent stretch draining 3-pointers and helping the Mustangs to five straight wins.
“This has been my best basketball I’ve ever played,” said Delaney, a postgrad who had a pretty nice career at Deering High School in Portland, Maine. “When I hit a few shots, I’m just hoping I keep getting the ball. My teammates pick up on it. They know, ‘Oh, she’s hit three in a row’ and keep passing to me.”
She is averaging 15.6 points and 3.5 3-pointers over the last five games. She had 19 on five 3s last Saturday, when she was named MVP of the team’s game at the She Got Game Classic. She also drained five 3s a week earlier on her way to 21 points in a win over Bradford Christian Academy.
“When I see her shoot, I already start going back on defense because I’m that confident in her shot,” said teammate Niya Fields. “And we are very aware of when she gets hot. We try and get her open as much as possible for her shot.
“Her shooting gift is natural for her. I’d love to have a shot like that. It’s like (asking) a little kid if they want a shot like Steph Curry.”
That certainly seems to be the case. Haines, who acknowledged she doesn’t care much for Curry, the NBA superstar widely regarded as the league’s premier shooter, said she’s been playing since basketball since elementary school (it is the only sport she has ever played), and she has always been able to shoot.
“For me, it’s where I’m looking at the hoop,” Haines said. “I look at the back of the rim and aim at that. Most of my shots have been off catch-and-shoot. I haven’t had a lot of shots off the dribble or step-backs. Most of them have been I’m wide open, teammates pass it to me, and I make it.”
A lot of them have been on the break, too, which isn’t an accident.
“We love having her out there on the floor, especially in transition,” Coach Amanda Morales said. “We talk to the girls about finding her early. It just opens everything up for us when she hits them, and hits them on the fly. She adds huge depth and dimension to our offense.”
Haines ended up at PSA hoping to gain more college exposure and essentially gain back her senior season of high school, which she missed most of with a broken wrist. She has been talking to a number of Division II schools, as well as a couple from Division I.
The team’s success, and her part in it, will certainly go a long way to raising her stock even further. But for now, it’s catch and shoot, catch and shoot.
“Before I came here, 90 percent of what I worked on was shooting,” Haines said. “And coming here, I’ll get on the shooting gun a lot. I usually just work on that. It’s working well so far.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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