Moses Lake forward looks to follow family’s basketball tradition
Meagan Karstetter gets the block for the Chiefs under the basket in the home opener for Moses Lake.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald
MOSES LAKE — Basketball lineage runs deep in the Karstetter family. Meagan, a sophomore with the Chiefs this season, looks to follow in this tradition as she continues her playing career at the varsity level this season.
Meagan Karstetter said she started playing at a young age through AAU programs.
“My parents started me young because I used to just watch my brothers play and so I just started to like it when I was watching them play,” she said.
Karstetter said her and her three older brothers would play pickup games in front of their house. Playing with her older brothers helped put pressure on her to get stronger as a basketball player.
Meagan said her parents have always been supportive in her athletic career, learning the ropes by the time they got to her older brother Kyle and herself.
“They’ve always given us the opportunities to do what we want to do,” Meagan Karstetter said.
The Moses Lake sophomore said her parents gave her the chance to play AAU ball and go to skill clinics. Basketball has always been big in the Karstetter family, and has only grown since her brother Kyle’s commitment to play for Idaho State University after his senior season this year.
Having her older brothers ahead of her has helped, Meagan said, by being able to hear their experiences before she gets to that moment. “When I get there, knowing how much I have to step up because I feel like he’s had to step up quite a bit this year, being a person, an athlete, and as a teammate,” she said. “Just hearing what he has to say is preparing me a little bit.”
Meagan said she definitely wants to play collegiately after she graduates. “That’d be awesome,” she said. “My goal is to play D-1, maybe California or Arizona, somewhere warm.”
As she pushes into her sophomore season, playing varsity for Moses Lake, Meagan said she feels she needs to step her game up this year.
“Just to be there for my team, doing everything they need me to do,” she said. “And, more, really just step up and do everything a varsity athlete should do.” The sophomore said her coaches have helped her continue to improve, helping to keep her mindful of mistakes she might be making each day.
When she leaves this program, Meagan said she just wants to make sure she’s gone out with her best effort each night, leaving behind a championship environment.