Former RHS Lady Panther now playing pro basketball in Mexican league.
It was exactly five years ago this past Wednesday when then-Ridgeland senior Rhande Haskett, still sporting a pair of crutches from a recent knee surgery, signed on to play basketball at Truett-McConnell University.
On Wednesday, March 1, Haskett boarded a plane to Guadalajara, Mexico to begin the next chapter of her basketball career.
Haskett recently signed a contract to play for Tapatias de Jalisco of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional Femenil (LNBPF). It is the top female basketball league in Mexico and the equivalent of the WNBA in the United States. The LNBP is the top men’s league in Mexico.
“This is my first trip to Mexico and I’m very nervous because I don’t know what to expect,” Haskett said by phone last Wednesday, just a few hours before boarding a plane in Atlanta. Their Athletic Director is picking me up from the airport, we’re getting something to eat and I might have heard her wrong, but I’m pretty sure I might be playing tonight.”
A former All-State player, who also played volleyball for the Lady Panthers, the 6-foot-1 Haskett averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds as a sophomore and 16 points and 14 boards as a junior. She was primed for a huge senior year, but hurt her knee in the fourth game of the season.
After talking with doctors, she put on a knee brace and rejoined the team after Christmas break, scoring 23 points in limited minutes in a game against Southeast Whitfield. However, she would tweak the knee again a few days later and had to have seasonending surgery.
But after fully recovering, the 2012 Ridgeland graduate went on to have a solid college career with the Lady Bears.
She averaged 12.9 points and 7.8 rebounds in 106 games over a four-year career for the NAIA school. She averaged 15.1 points and 8.5 rebounds as a senior in the 2015-2016 season and led the Lady Bears in scoring and rebounding in all of her final three seasons at TMU.
She finished with over 1,300 points, more than 800 rebounds and over 100 career blocked shots.
Haskett is also the first TMU women’s basketball play to sign a contract to play basketball after college in the program’s history.
“It all started back in July,” she explained. “I was wanting to play overseas, but I was working on becoming a physical therapist. The new coach at TruettMcConnell (Tron Griffin) called me and asked if I was wanting to play (overseas). There are a few different Facebook groups that had posted openings so I sent in my information.
“I had three different deals that never came through, but this one finally did and I signed the contract (two weeks ago).”
Haskett said she hopes the experience of playing in Mexico will lead to more opportunities down the road.
“I hope to bring a good energy to the team and be productive for them,” she said. “I want to get some good experience at the pro level and use it to get better so I can see how far I can go with basketball.”
“I’ve gotten so much support from everyone (back home). I’m just so blessed right now.”