McMinnville senior Macie Arzner — great player, even better teammate

The Pittsburgh commit is averaging 25.1 points and 11.1 rebounds for the Grizzlies, but good luck getting her to talk about herself

Macie Arzner can do it all — except talk about her own accomplishments! / Dan Brood

There’s a lot that can be said about Macie Arzner.

After all, the McMinnville senior has put together nothing short of an amazing basketball career, shining for the Grizzlies.

After having most of her first two basketball seasons at the school wiped away by some devastating injuries — a dislocated kneecap that required surgery and then a fractured ankle — Arzner’s comeback has been absolutely remarkable.

As a junior, in her first full season on the court, the 5-foot-11 guard was named a Pacific Conference co-player of the year and earned first-team Class 6A all-state honors after she helped the Grizzlies earn a share of the conference title.

This season, she seems to have taken her game to an even higher level. Be it scoring inside or outside, drawing fouls, rebounding, passing, defense — whatever the team needs, Arzner seems to get it done.

This week, with the Pacific Conference title at stake in a game at Century, Arzner had a monster performance with 37 points and 13 rebounds in helping the Grizzlies come away with a title-clinching 67-50 win.

Macie Arzner had 37 points in McMinnville's 67-50 victory against Century. / Dan Brood

Yes, there’s a lot that can be said about Arzner.

But you know who doesn’t seem to want to talk about Macie Arzner? That would be Arzner herself.

It’s not that she doesn’t want to talk — it’s just that she seems much happier talking about the team, and her teammates.

Standing in a Century High School hallway after the big victory, Arzner got a big smile when talking about the win.

“Brooklynn Summers, that girl right there, she’s ridiculous on the boards, and Ruby (Riddle), these girls were shutting down their big girls, and Ali (Jensen), she’s really coming alive as an amazing player,” Arzner said. “And Rylie (McManus), she’s a phenomenal player. She can do everything. She can bring up the ball, she can drive, she can shoot, she can rebound, she can play defense. They’re all amazing.”

As she was talking about her teammates, she took time to congratulate them all as they walked past her in the Century hallway.

The reason? According to Arzner, it’s simple.

“It’s all the team,” she said. “I can’t do anything without them. They’re amazing.”

Arzner might be a little hesitant in talking about herself, but her teammates are more than happy to talk about her.

“She’s been my inspiration since I was so tiny,” said Summers, a junior forward. “She’s everything that I want to be.”

McManus, a senior guard, cut right to the point.

“Oh my gosh, she is a straight baller,” McManus said.

That certainly seems to be accurate, especially in this, Arzner’s senior season.

“It’s going real good,” Arzner said. “Coach (Sean) Coste has helped me develop quite a bit, and the girls, like Ali (Jensen) working real hard, and her defense is phenomenal, so when she’s playing against me, I’m able to do things to help my dribbling skills because of her defense.”

There could be a little more to it than that.

“I’ve played with her since I was super little,” McManus said. “She’s like my best friend, and I look up to her a lot. She’s super inspirational, and she works so hard every single day.”

With that daily hard work, and the help of her coaches and teammates, Arzner has put together an impressive senior season. Through the Grizzlies’ first 23 games, she’s averaging 25.1 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 3.2 steals, 2.0 deflections and 0.5 blocks per game in helping McMinnville put together an 18-5 record and a 15-game win streak entering Thursday’s regular-season finale at Liberty.

Macie Arzner will play college basketball for the University of Pittsburgh. / Dan Brood

“I think she’s been full-throttle this year,” McManus said. “She’s killing it.”

Full-throttle, but still in control.

“I’m just working hard at being slower,” Arzner said. “I know I speed up quite a bit, but Coach has been helping me, making sure I’m staying slow and making smart decisions. That’s probably been the biggest thing I’ve been working on to try to improve this year.”

There’s more.

“I’ve been working on my contact quite a bit, making sure I’m getting contact and getting to the free throw line,” she added.

That has paid off for the Grizzlies, as Arzner is shooting 86.4 percent from the free throw line this season.

As for the future, Arzner has her college basketball plans set.

“I’m going to go to the University of Pittsburgh and play over there,” she said. “It’s just a feeling about going there. I can’t quite describe it. I figured it was time to do something new and be someone new, and it’s a good opportunity for me. I was talking about that with my parents the other day. I’m really enjoying what we’re doing here, and I’m also really excited for what’s to come, and I’m really ready for what’s to come next, as well.”

Macie Arzner will miss her McMinnville teammates — and the Grizzlies program no doubt will miss her, too. / Dan Brood

But first, Arzner said she’s going to cherish the rest of her senior season with the Grizzlies.

“I’ve been talking about my senior year,” she said. “It’s weird because it’s like you don’t realize that it’s all going to be gone. You’ve only got so many guaranteed games left. So, wearing this jersey and playing with these girls just means a little bit more.”

That probably goes for her teammates, too.

“She’s such a role model, and seeing how hard she works every single day, that fires me up. It also goes for other people on the team,” Summers said. “She’s always that first person to pick someone up. She’s also so selfless, no matter where she is.”

Once again, McManus summed things up perfectly.

“She’s the best teammate anyone could ask for,” McManus said.

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