Nevada’s Dakota Hendricks has carried her volleyball success over to the basketball court

Dakota Hendricks was caught a little off guard after the Nevada girls basketball team defeated Saydel on Dec. 5.

The Cubs scored a 51-26 victory. That part was expected.

The unexpected part was Hendricks, a junior, setting a school record with 11 steals and adding 15 points and five assists.

“I guess it just came to me,” Hendricks said. “I wasn’t expecting it. I thought I’d get a volleyball record before I got a basketball record.” 

Hendricks made her name as a high school athlete as the libero for a successful Nevada volleyball program. But this year she has become a big weapon on the basketball court for the Cubs as their new starting point guard.

“Dakota is a tremendous athlete,” said Nevada coach Jordan Bentley. “Her translating some of her volleyball skills over to basketball has seemed to work pretty well.”

More: How Dakota Hendricks became a game changer on the volleyball court for No. 6 Nevada

Because of the elite quickness, reflexes and hustle she developed as a volleyball player, Hendricks has become an excellent perimeter defender despite being undersized.

Last season as a reserve player she averaged 1.4 steals. This season, with her more prominent role on the court, she is up to 4.1 per game.

“I feel like my speed and aggressiveness that comes from the volleyball court definitely translates down to the basketball court,” Hendricks said. “I move quicker because of volleyball.” 

While she is known for her defense, it is Hendricks’ offensive game that has really taken a big leap this season.

“She’s smart,” Bentley said. “She’s done a good job of taking coaching, applying it and taking care of the basketball. We’ve seen a lot of good things out of Dakota.” 

Last season Hendricks averaged just 2.7 points and 1.3 assists per game. Heading into Friday’s game against South Hamilton she was averaging 10.7 points and 2.3 assists.

“Dakota has done a great job,” said Nevada center Isabelle Nelson. “She’s a little nervous, but she does an amazing job. She put in the work. She’s really grown so much with her shooting and dribbling and she’s able to find everyone on the court.” 

Hendricks said she worked a lot on her shot over the offseason. Through Friday’s 43-29 loss to South Hamilton, she had made 23 3-pointers, more than double what she made for the entire 2022-2023 season (10).

She has also assumed the primary ball-handling duties and runs the Nevada offense.

“There is a lot of pressure,” Hendricks said. “Bridget (Cahill) was ahead of me last year. Now it’s my turn. The pressure is there, but I feel like I’ve done a good job accepting the pressure.” 

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Hendricks has developed great chemistry with her teammates.

“We have telepathy,” said senior guard Cinamon Hazlitt. “She always knows where I am, and I always know where she is. I have full confidence in her as a point guard.” 

Hendricks knows there is still plenty for her to work on during her first season running the show for Nevada. Turnovers and inconsistency on offense were issues for the Cubs during their loss to South Hamilton.

With the loss to the Hawks, the Cubs are sitting at 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the Heart of Iowa Conference. They are still in contention for the conference title and their third winning season in four years.

Hendricks wants to do everything she can to help make both goals a reality.

“As a team, we will definitely improve,” Hendricks said. “We’ve always been a really strong defensive team and once we get the offense running I feel like the rest of our season is going to be really successful. I’m excited to see what the season has in store for us.” 

Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman