WOONSOCKET — Liz Boschee’s upbringing laid the foundation for her success as a multi-sport athlete and all-state basketball player.

The Sanborn Central/Woonsocket senior girls basketball player has left her mark across multiple sports, including basketball, where she was last season’s Class B girls player of the year. 

Boschee’s family foundation paved the way for her athletic success. As the youngest of Tricia and Arin Boschee’s three children, Liz followed the example set by her older siblings, Trinity and Jeffery, who fueled her desire to become a Blackhawk athletic standout.

“I always wanted to be like them, and even trying to be better than them was always a competition,” Liz said. “Just following in their footsteps and wanting to be like them really impacted how I wanted to be.” 

It’s impacted her in a positive way, and she’s been the ultimate multi-sport athlete for the Blackhawks. In addition to basketball, Boschee has competed in volleyball, track and field and cross country at Sanborn Central/Woonsocket. 

She’s an all-conference volleyball player, and placed in three events at the state track and field meet last season. 

Boschee’s athletic prowess is reminiscent of Myah Selland, a former Sanborn Central/Woonsocket multi-sport standout who was named South Dakota Miss Basketball in 2017.

Selland, a former South Dakota State University women’s basketball player, also had a strong impact on Boschee. 

“I looked up to her and I really wanted to be like her,” Boschee said. “So I think she had the most impact on me wanting to continue to play basketball and just work on it.” 

Sanborn Central/Woonsocket's Liz Boschee puts up a shot against Parkston on Feb. 5 in Forestburg. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

Nine seasons after Selland set the program record with 2,219 career points, Boschee is carving out her own legacy with the SCW basketball program.

For her career, Boschee has totaled 1,561 points and 724 rebounds. This season, she is averaging 14.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.3 steals, 2.1 assists and 1.5 blocks per game.

Boschee recently logged a triple-double of 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals in a 43-41 win over Wolsey-Wessington on Feb. 7. 

A four-year starter, Boschee is being coached this season by former competitor Krista Robinson, who previously coached at conference foe James Valley Christian.

“I do kind of have a unique perspective on Liz because I coached against her for a couple of years, and now to have her on my team, it’s nice to have her on my team,” Robinson said. “It’s a blessing to have her on my team.” 

Having coached against her, Robinson said it gave Boschee a fresh perspective on the skills she needed to sharpen this season. Robinson emphasized that Boschee improved on her physicality, rebounding and using her teammates to generate offense. 

“She’s taken all the challenges I have given her with those three things and has definitely even exceeded my expectations and she’s become a multi-positional player for us,” Robinson said. “There’s times she is bringing up the ball leading our fastbreak. We can throw her inside. We can throw her on the wing, and she accepts whatever we ask of her. She wants to do what is best for her team and help her team win.”

A 6-foot-1 forward, Boschee began her career primarily as a post player, but has transitioned into more of a wing role over the past couple of seasons. Boschee said that playing multiple positions will help her transition next season as she begins her college basketball career at Northern State University.

“Playing them all will help because I am not the tallest player,” Boschee said. “When it comes to college I can be playing a completely different spot then what I was and knowing how to play them all will help me with transitioning into that position. So being able to know how to play them all has helped me a lot and should help me in college.”

Robinson called Boschee “a total package” on the court and expects her to make an impact at the college level. Boschee, who will major in business at NSU, is projected to play a forward position for the Wolves. 

But first Boschee hopes to lead the Blackhawks back to the state tournament, where they finished as last season’s Class B runner-ups. 

“I obviously want to go as far as I can for my last season,” Boschee said. “I am just trying to make the most of it. Trying to have fun with the girls and have a good time. But our goals are definitely to go as far as we can and hopefully make it back.”