Ada Farrell has had her mind put to the test plenty of times throughout her high school cross country career.

From running in tough Eastern Missouri Conference meets to tackling the grueling Gans Creek course at the state meet, Farrell has had her share of events that have exerted her mind as well as her body.

Farrell, a junior guard for the Wright City girls basketball team, said that her pain can be the basketball team’s gain as she aims to help ramp up the overall mental toughness for the Wildcats.

“A lot of the reason we tend to lose is that we get into our heads, it’s a mental thing,” Farrell said. “Cross country is all mental. Bringing my mental motivation to the team can really help us excel. This is a mental game out there. We can get past any mental blocks and excel as a team.”

That leadership has become a rallying cry for a teammate like senior guard Shiriah McRoberts.

McRoberts said that Farrell goes out on the court every day with the intention of doing something not many high school players – girls or boys – want to do.

Farrell’s top priority on the court is to play tough, hard-nosed defense and that’s just fine with McRoberts. She said that there’s a reason why Wright City coach Dustin Elledge named Farrell the team’s defensive captain.

“She gets us going,” McRoberts said. “I’m grateful that she’s taken that job, honestly. She is the one who communicates for us on defense. She helps us know when to help and that makes us a better team.”

Elledge said that defensive intensity, an important mental trait for a team, is contagious.

The coach said it all starts with Farrell, who’s not afraid to do whatever it takes to stop the opposition from making anything come easy on its offensive side of the court.

“A lot of teams don’t like the pressure and the aggressiveness,” Elledge said. “Ada does a lot to create turnovers, just with her own play and that really sparks the other girls. It shows girls that it’s okay to take risks to play good defense. We’ve seen Kaitlyn Mikus get in there and Shiriah does the same thing. They play tough defense because they are following Ada’s lead.”

For Farrell, it’s just fine that she’s become synonymous with defense.

It’s been that way for years, and even though it isn’t the most glamorous side of basketball, she’ll do what she’s always done to help any team she plays for be at its best.

“I’ve never been that good at shooting,” Farrell said. “Even if I don’t make a shot, I know I can get back and work hard on defense. That’s why I'm the defensive captain. It’s my job to have the team focus on that (part of the game), to keep our heads up and to lock in so the other side doesn’t score.”

Even though she views defense as crucial, Farrell added that she and the team will need to look ahead.

She’s going to have to be able to add more to her resume for her final season on the court after the current group of seniors has graduated.

“We lost a lot of shooters after last year and we’ll lose even more after this year,” Farrell said. “I want us to go out, have fun and build our confidence when it comes to shooting the ball. I want us to come together as a team. That’s what’s going to be best for us and make us all better now and (in the future).”