The crowd buzzes with anticipation as Savanna Wright steps onto the court, her sneakers squeaking against the polished floor. At just 15, Savanna isn’t just playing the game—she’s redefining it. Ranked 6th in Iowa for the 2028 class high school girls, she shattered expectations last season by helping lead the Mount Vernon Mustangs to a state championship. But behind every point scored and every win, there’s a story of grit, heart, and the unbreakable bond she shares with her teammates.
”I do get nervous like anyone would with a big game, but I just try to keep my focus on the ball and try not to think about other things, just the game,” she said, recalling the 2025 season state championship.
Going into her sophomore season, she has hit the ground running, motivated to get back to the game, pre-game bags of candy, and back to her basketball family.
“Basketball means so much to me not only because of the game, but the families you make along the way,” she said
To Wright, the sport of basketball is not just about the ball going through the net; it’s what gets the ball through that net and the people who get it there.
“ Being there for your teammates no matter what they are going through is how teams win games, it’s not just about the skill players have,” she said
Wright values every teammate, not just for executing plays but for mutual support on and off the court.
being a leader for the team through ups and downs, especially after a hard loss.“No matter what happens, the ball keeps bouncing,” Wright expressed, being there for her teammates because the ball didn’t stop bouncing when her team messed up; it kept bouncing.
¨ There is no off-season for me¨ Wright expressed.¨ School ball goes till the end of March, and that’s when the team attack starts¨.
Wright’s basketball career is an ongoing cycle that doesn’t stop. She plays school basketball with the Mount Vernon Mustangs from the end of November to the beginning of March, then the Team Iowa Attack starts at the end of March and runs through the end of July. In the months between seasons, Wright works on the techniques she struggled with during her season.
Wright’s childhood with her two sisters, Taylor and Courtney Franck, was ¨inspiring,¨she expressed. Now, Wright is a sophomore, and both her sisters are seniors, meaning they have one more season under their belts. “Playing with both of them at a young age was so cool,” she said.
”At a young age, I played two years up just so I could play with them,” she said.¨Playing with kids much older than me helped me improve in the game¨.
Wright not only wanted to play with her sisters, but also found that competing two years ahead at age six quickly developed her skills. She learned that improvement required dedication, committing herself to practice each day, playing inside by just bouncing the ball around, and playing in the driveway. Wright doesn’t stop bouncing the ball.
Savanna and her team have one big goal for this upcoming season: winning the state championship back-to-back seasons. She says that being set on that will get her and the Mount Vernon Mustangs to the big game.
