Belanger to savor senior year at Truman St.

After another stellar college basketball season, Truman State guard Hannah Belanger, the all-time scoring leader in Grafton High School history, should be ready to run the floor.

Belanger’s summer training involved conditioning, but not the run-of-the-mill variety.

She ran a half marathon on July 30.

“I was trying to find a new mental and physical challenge,” Belanger said.

“I’m glad I finished it. That was my goal.”

Her mother made the trip to the race in Pleasant Hill near Kansas City, Mo., to cheer on her daughter.

“She brought her cowbell and everything,” Belanger said.

During Belanger’s preferred sport of basketball last season, she averaged 17.1 points per game, 4.6 rebounds and 3.85 assists per game. Her 57 assists were fourth in the conference.

She shot 174-for-439 overall (39.6%), including 58-for-189 (30.7%) on three-pointers. She made 73 of 89 free throws (82%).

Belanger was a unanimous Great Lakes Valley Conference first team selection, but she knew it wasn’t going to be easy following the prior season when she was named a Division II All-American. She was on the ballot again after last season.

“My coach and parents said don’t think about it too much — no pressure. Just get out and enjoy playing,” Belanger said.

“As a competitor, it’s always nice to try to compete with yourself. For me personally, I think I can always do better.”

In 2020, Belanger averaged 18.5 points per game — tied for fourth best in school history and fourth in the GLVC — and nailed 70 three-pointers, tied for second in the nation. She shot 40.6% on three-pointers and 41.8% from the field (136-for-325). She averaged 3.8 rebounds and three assists per game.

Now, entering her senior year, Belanger will play off the ball a little more, rather that always at point guard. She mentored a freshman at point guard last season, and Truman State got a transfer who can play the position.

Belanger looks forward to the different role.

“It gives me a chance to rest on the offensive end,” she said.

Regardless where she plays, Belanger has added a new objective.

“I’m focused on trying to enjoy it more this year and relieve some of that pressure,” she said.

“The main goal I’ve got is winning conference.”

The team last season went 18-11 overall, 13-6 and in second place of the Central Division of the GLVC. The Bulldogs lost, 83-75, to Lewis in the quarterfinals of the GLVC Tournament. Belanger had 28 points and hit five three-pointers in 38 minutes.

Belanger stayed in Kirksville, Mo., during summer to be able to train in the gym, weight room and on the football field.  She also played in a summer league at Columbia College, 90 minutes from Kirksville near the University of Missouri. A couple of her teammates joined her.

“That was really good. It was different competition,” Belanger said.

She also played one-on-one games against some of Truman State’s football players. It was interesting to play opponents who were a little stronger and faster, Belanger said.

“I played both quarterbacks. They’re not bad. They’re not the best. They should definitely stick with football,” she said with a laugh.

One of the team’s defensive players, she said, was a good basketball player.

During the first half of summer, she did an internship at a nutrition center and shadowed a registered dietitian during appointments.

Belanger wants to earn a master’s degree in nutrition and dietetics, but Truman State doesn’t offer that program. After she graduates in 2023, she may seek to play basketball in Europe or use her extra year of eligibility, added by the NCAA due to Covid-19, to be a grad transfer, which allows students who completed their undergraduate degree and have athletic eligibility left to play a sport while attending a different school.

Belanger wants to be a sports dietitian for a college or professional team.

On Aug. 21, Belanger and her teammates will help lead a camp for high school players. Belanger said she is happy that Grafton guard Sarah Aleknavicius is one of the attendees.

School resumes Aug. 22, and basketball workouts start the following Friday.

“Nobody tells you basketball is a year-round sport until you’re actually doing it year-round,” Belanger said.

The team can work with coaches four hours per week during the preseason. When the first official practice is held in October, some teams hold midnight madness celebrations with fans to mark the start of the season.

Not Truman State.

“We don’t get anything special for our first day of practice,” Belanger said. “We get two hours of straight defense. Two straight hours of shuffles.”