Keely Derochie has been an underrated hero for Hinton the last couple of seasons, being primarily overshadowed by their Upperclassman but now it’s going to be time time shine. Derochie averaged the most RPG on the team last Winter with 6. That number is impressive when you consider standing next to her is someone that will be competing with the Creighton Bluejays in Volleyball for the next four years in Bailey Boeve and she is out-rebounding her. This Winter we should see Derochie back in the same spot in the middle, handling rebounding duties, as well as being a go-to player near the paint on offense. They should be bringing in a few more killers from their 2030 Class and with the new 8th grade rule, who knows who we might see the next eight months on Varsity but no matter any of that – Derochie is going to be a constant in their formula somewhere.

An unsung hero for Hinton is Keely Derochie Keely Derochie 5'9" | SF Hinton | 2027 IA . Derochie is a SF, that handles the middle of her team’s zone on defense. Derochie is the one that is tasked with communicating everything to her teammates that was happening around them. Being located in the middle of the lane, she has the best vantage point to shootout what is going on and she did a respectable job of that tonight as Rock Valley didn’t get any action in the paint for the most part other than early on. Derochie is the type to compete with a lot of energy. She is always pumping up those around her and we saw that multiple times tonight once she made a big stop. To win a State Title it’s all hands on deck so it’s crucial that Derochie continues to do what she does on the defensive end for this squad. She made an impact tonight and that impact helped them win the game.

Keely Derochie Keely Derochie 5'9" | SF Hinton | 2027 IA ‘s effort in tonight’s game cannot be stressed enough. The glue player for Hinton was instrumental in keeping Rock Valley off the boards and helped create scoring opportunities for driving teammates. One bucket away from a double-double tonight, the 5’10 small forward scored in a number of different ways and was a relentless rebounder. Offensively, Derochie read the game well and was aggressive off the bounce when defenders closed out too hard. She also sunk a number of short jumpers — her consistency in the midrange made defenders have to cover her even closer, and this in turn gave her guards more space to drive and score. Hats off to Keely for her stellar performance.