When it came to winning the popular icebreaker game Two Truths and a Lie, Caitlin Bickle always had an ace in the hole.
She'd say her room is pink, she plays basketball and rides horses.
"They would always think the horses were the lie," said Bickle, a junior at Cactus Shadows (Cave Creek, Arizona). "Everyone was like, 'What? You don't do that.' But I did."
Bickle didn't play with dolls as a 5-year-old. Instead, she started horseback riding. She was adept at a variety of styles, including saddlebred and barrel racing. Up until March, Bickle and her horse, Abby, traveled from state to state to compete.
That's where she developed leg and core strength -- not to mention uncanny balance. Each piece has helped her on the basketball court, where she's a 6-foot-1 wing and the No. 34 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Super 60 for the 2018 class. She also enjoys basketball's version of H-O-R-S-E. When she visited Berkeley last month, she played (and won) against a Cal coach and an Arizona Select AAU teammate.
But early returns on horseback didn't always net the best results. She was thrown off, and even had her hand stepped on by a five-gaited horse.
"I honestly fell off so much, but I was like, 'Might as well keep doing it,'" Bickle said.
Her perseverance has certainly paid off, notably in a different arena.
"A lot of kids who are tall in basketball are awkward," said her mom, Lyn. "Caitlin, she's just always been very dominant on the court."
She also had a knack for being a fast learner. The first time she rode a bike, she didn't need help, though the surface was grassy and uneven.
"She just got on and rode, no training wheels," Lyn said. "It was the craziest thing."
'The glue'
It was important to Lyn and Caitlin's dad John, a doctor in family practice, that their daughter be well-rounded. In addition to basketball and equestrian, Caitlin played softball and soccer.
By fifth grade, she realized basketball was the right fit. That's when she started playing for Ben Boyd at Arizona Pure, which later became Arizona Select.
Caitlin has two older brothers: James (19) and Danny (21), a reserve in the U.S. Marines. Both attend Grand Canyon University, where Lyn works. And both study accounting, but Caitlin envisions studying therapy or law in college.
The brothers helped instill toughness in Caitlin from an early age. "It was always like, you wake up and you're competing with your brothers," she said.
The first time Caitlin hit the court hard during rec ball with a thigh contusion -- "dead leg" -- her father came down from the stands after Lyn nudged him.
But his daughter wasn't interested in help.
"She's on the court, and she looks up at me and goes, 'Get away from me,'" John said. "Like, 'What are you doing here?' I was like, 'Oh, OK.' She got up and shook it off and kept playing."
Bickle has been part of a transformation at Cactus Shadows. The Falcons won a combined 16 games in the two years before she enrolled. With her in the lineup, they won 51 games over the past two seasons.
"She's changed the whole dynamic of our program," coach Richie Willis said.
Bickle led the Falcons to a No. 6 state ranking last year while averaging 13.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists. She also earned first team all-state honors.
Willis describes Bickle as a worker and contributor. He has even tweaked some portions of the playbook based on her suggestions.
"Our program has been on the rise, and Caitlin is a huge part of it," Willis said. "Her IQ for the game is ridiculous."
Basketball isn't Bickle's only team activity at school. She's part of the Break-away Leadership Team -- a group of student leaders who work to make the school inclusive. She has helped with fundraisers, handed out papers with compliments to students, and brainstormed ways to stop bullying.
Away from school, she's working to get stronger. She regularly visits EXOS -- an athlete performance center -- before practice.
Above all, her coach and parents say, she keeps her team together with an intrinsic confidence.
"She really serves as the glue for a team," John said. "It makes me so proud when other people and evaluators say those things.
"You know it's true because you can see it also."
Which Bear will it be?
Bickle narrowed her college choices to Michigan, Louisville, Cal and Baylor in August. Recently, she picked a top two: Cal Golden Bears and Baylor Lady Bears.
She hopes to commit before the AAU season kicks into full swing in June.
"It isn't really a goal for me to go far away from my family," Bickle said. "That was a big decision for the two. ... I have a very good relationship with Cal-Berkeley and Baylor.
"I love their coaching staffs and their campuses."
While she mulls over her options, Bickle and Cactus Shadows are on a mission. They fell 49-40 to Seton Catholic last postseason in the Division II state final.
"I do want to make sure that our team gets to that point, but also past that point," she said. "That would be amazing to be able to achieve."
Bickle and Cactus Shadows will undoubtedly face some challenges along the way.
No worry, though.
A basketball is much easier to control than a 1,500-pound horse with a mind of its own.
"Hopefully I'm there for another 10 or 15 years," Willis said. "I don't know if there will be another player that I will be blessed by the basketball gods that will come through the doors like Caitlin.
"You never know, but I'm a lucky guy right now."