As the Tarleton State University TexAnn basketball team advance toward the 2016 Lone Star Conference Championship Tournament, one TexAnn has been honored for her skills on the court. Junior Bailey Wipff (pronounced Wiff) a 5’7” guard from Lubbock, Texas, has been the standout start for the TexAnns. For the 2015-2016 season, Wipff has been named the Lone Star Conference offensive player of the week twice.

Wipff was introduced at a young age to basketball, as she remembers hearing stories from her mother, who played basketball in high school. Along with her mother, Bailey says she has several role models that have motivated her throughout her athletic career, one being her high school coach, Mr. Newman.

“He taught me everything I know, he made me the player I am today,” said Wipff.

Wipff says while she doesn’t watch the WNBA, she does watch the NBA, with the San Antonio Spurs being her favorite team, and her favorite players are Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard.

The Collegiate level is as far as Wipff sees herself going for now, as she is an Education major and looks to teach fourth through eighth grade, while coaching a basketball team, and eventually transitioning to coach high school.

During her high school years, Wipff averaged 12.2 points per game, lettering every year she played.

Prior to graduating high school in 2013, she originally signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Howard College in Big Spring, Texas, but after her freshman year, she chose to transfer to Tarleton.

When asked about the team and coaching staff at Tarleton in comparison to everywhere else she has played, she admits it was initially something she never encountered.

“She never yells,” Wipff said when discussing head coach Misty Wilson’s style. “She encourages [the players] to improve and to do better, but never yells at us.” A style that required some adjustment for Wipff, and the team. The team has also become a family to her, the experiences made while playing have created an unbreakable bond for this group of girls.

Outside of her rigorous training schedule, she tries to manage balancing a social life and classes, noting that every chance she has, she will always take a nap to try and catch a break from her busy schedule.

Although she does not see herself advancing professionally in basketball, Wipff is a force on the TexAnns.