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Hailey Hyland, a 2006 Onalaska High School graduate, certainly wasn't a poor girls basketball player at OHS as a contributing player off the bench as a senior. But nothing in her high school days seemed to indicate she'd eventually play the game in college at UW-Platteville. And in Ireland late last month.

“I met one of the girls on the team and they invited me to come scrimmage with them,” Hyland said of how she got her collegiate basketball start. “So one of my close friends on my (dorm) floor my freshman year and I decided to try out. You don't know how many players they're going to keep, but they decided to keep everyone.”

Hyland, who plays both wing positions, got to play in Ireland as part of a 10-day educational study tour that included three games with the UW-Platteville women. Platteville won its three games in the event, including against the Irish National 21-and-under team.

“Every couple of years some of Platteville's old basketball players that work for the university allow us to travel somewhere,” Hyland said. “In the past they've usually gone to Europe.

“The three games were a lot of fun, but the teams were a lot different than what we were used to. They speak with a heavy Irish accent. There was a wide variety in the ages of the players and they were much more laid back than we are.”

But Hyland also got a chance to finish several Irish landmarks, including the Kylemore Abbey Garden. Visiting a garden that was formerly a school for nuns for the Catholic Hyland was a highlight of the trip.

“We did a lot of tours with both the boys and girls teams,” Hyland said. “Kylemore Abbey was a pretty tour and we could do it at our own pace. It was really interesting to see that.”

Also a part of the trip were a visit to the Guinness Brewery and the Blarney Stone. Hyland and her teammates took an eight-week class on Ireland's history and cultures to prepare for the tour.

The basketball wasn't exactly the same basketball played in the United States, either. The games were played under international rules, with a 20 feet, 9 inch three-point arch and a trapezoid three-second lane.

“We practiced with the different lane, so that wasn't completely foreign when we got over there,” Hyland said. “The harder thing to get used to was that the refs aren't as strict on a ton of rules.

“The new three-point line was a little hard getting used to. We made the adjustment, but it took a while every game.”

The other in-team highlight of the trip was that teammate Brianna Klaas could participate. The 2006 Lancaster graduate was diagnosed with cancer and did not play last season after averaging nine points a game as a freshman.

“Her coming along on the trip gave us a bunch of motivation,” Hyland said. “Our thoughts during the season and in Ireland are always with her.”

Hyland is the daughter of Thor and Kelly Riedesel of Onalaska. She is majoring in elementary education, but said she probably won't pursue coaching when she graduates.