LONE STAR SENIOR
by Steve Sheppard Independent Sports Editor
Imagine you're about to be a high school senior, with all the attendant expectations the milestone implies.

Imagine next that you won't be finishing your high school career in the school you've attended or with the classmates you know, but 1,798 miles away. More than that, you'll be moving from Nacogdoches in east Texas to a place that isn't even connected to the rest of the country, to a small place out in the ocean called Nantucket.

Nantucket?

"I had only heard of it in a joking way," Maryanne Bradley says. "You know, 'I have a summer home on Nantucket.' "

The daughter of physician Dr. Craig Bradley and Zoe Bradley, Maryanne moved with her family when her father accepted a job as a family practitioner on the island. Dr. Bradley had met Dr. Greg Hinson, who urged him to visit. "We weren't looking to move when we did," Dr. Bradley said. "We came last March and really liked the folks here, and we really liked the community." The Bradleys made the difficult decision and moved to Nantucket last August.

The differences between the open highways and warm western air of Texas and the cold winter darkness of Nantucket, in the tiny state of Massachusetts, no less, are about as diametrically opposed as things can get.

"It was so hard at first," Maryanne said. "It was tough to adjust when I first got here."

There was to be a silver lining, however. Athletic directors and coaches always stress that one of the most important reasons behind school athletics is that sports are inclusive; that students, no matter what their backgrounds, can work together as a team and find common ground.

That's exactly what happened when Bradley suited up for the Lady Whalers. The shooting guard made an immediate impression on her coaches and teammates, and was an integral part of the team's success this year. "The basketball team really made all the difference," the con- genial 18-year-old said after Friday's heartbreaking loss in the Division 4 South final game. "I've made eleven really close friends."

Although high school basketball "is a little more intense in Texas," Bradley said the tournament games, especially the semi-final and finals contests, came close to the passion of the Lone Star State. She said being part of the team that went 20-4 on the season went well beyond her perceptions. "I didn't expect any of this," she said, while noting that her former high school team advanced to the same post-season level - one game removed from the state finals - as Nantucket High.

An all-around athlete, she's looking forward to next Monday, when softball practices begin. A third baseman, she's probably heard the softball team has a successful tradition of its own.

Before long, her high school years will be ending. Bradley plans to attend St. Edward's University in Austin this September. Rather than being a year of solitude and uncertainty, her time at Nantucket High School has proven to be one of acceptance and an occasion for her to shine. No matter where her travels take her in the future, Maryanne is an islander now, and one of a handful of girls who this year earned a niche in

Nantucket sports history. I