Martins Ferry standout girls basketball player Lindsey Best recently announced that she will attend Bethany College to continue her academic and athletic careers. Front row, from left, are her father, Brad Best, Lindsey, her mother, Erin. In back, from left, are Martins Ferry girls basketball head coach Dave Reasbeck, Lindsey’s brothers Cameron and Connor, and Martins Ferry High School Principal Joe Mamone.
MARTINS FERRY – Lindsey Best really didn’t have much self-confidence on the basketball court until her junior season at Martins Ferry. That’s when she became sort of a ‘den mother’ to a really good freshmen class.
“It gave me a lot of confidence being the oldest player on the team,” she said. “I wasn’t really confident until my junior year. That helped me a lot with my leadership qualities.”
That is one aspect of her game that was on display every time Martins Ferry took the floor the last two seasons. Now she will do it at the collegiate level next fall.
The 5-9 senior recently announced her intentions to attend Bethany College as a member of the women’s basketball program.
So why Bethany?
“The coaches. I created a really good bond with them by playing on their AAU team,” Best added. “I got really close to them. The environment of the campus was nice because it is small. Everybody knows everybody.”
Best, who played for the OV Dragons during AAU, was a three-time all-Ohio honoree. This past season saw her earn second team honors in Division V after averaging 18.7 points a game and surpassing the 1,000-point mark for her career. As a junior, she scored 19 points a game and was special mention in Division II. As a sophomore, she was a third team honoree after averaging 16.6 points. She finished with 1,312 career points.
Best was the Eastern District Division V Player of the Year this season and won the three-point shootout at the District 12 All-Star Game. She was also the District V Player of the Year, as well as All-OVAC.
Martins Ferry head coach Dave Reasbeck thinks Bethany College is getting a diamond in the rough
“Bethany is getting a gem,” he said. “Lindsey is a very underrated player. She had games where she scored 20 in the first quarter.
“She is as responsible as anybody for elevating our program to where it is over the last four years,” Reasbeck added. “She takes no days off. Every drill, practice, scrimmage or game she goes 100 percent. That will translate to the next level.”
Best also considered Wilmington and Mount Union.
“I really liked both of those schools, but Bethany was just the right fit,” she said.
Her two fondest memories as a Purple Rider are winning the OVAC Class 3A championship and scoring her 1,000th point.
“My favorite memory was winning the OVAC championship my junior year because it hadn’t been done for awhile,” she explained. “Scoring my 1,000th point was also fun. I was injured during some of my career, so I could have gotten it faster, but just getting it was a big relief.”
Best took time to thank all of her coaches and teammates that have helped her reach the next level of her career, as well as her parents.
“Especially my parents for doing everything for me and taking me everywhere, especially over the summer during AAU,” she stressed. “They’ve always supported me in whatever I’ve done.”
Best plans to major in Pre-Physical Therapy.
Bethany is a member of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference that also consists of Allegheny College, Case Western Reserve University, Chatham University, Franciscan University, Geneva College, Grove City College, Hiram College, Saint Vincent College, Thiel College, Washington & Jefferson College, Waynesburg University and Westminster College.
Lindsey is the daughter of Brian and Erin Best. She has two brothers, Cameron and Conner. They reside in Rayland.
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