SAMOKOV, Bulgaria – A journey of determination for Menlo Women's Basketball forward Faye Borchert culminated this past weekend as The Hague native represented her country, Team Netherlands, at the FIBA U20 Women's EuroBasket B-Division.
 
For Borchert, the first steps on her path to competing for the National Team were taken at the age of 12.

"Back then, I attended the pre-selections for the U15 and U16 squads, but was always cut in the first round," Borchert said. "Making the National Team began to become a major goal and a dream of mine, something I deeply wanted to accomplish someday, even though it felt a little too far out of reach at the time. But I kept showing up year after year, refusing to let those early cuts stop me."

Borchert then saw a shift at the U18 level. She made the top 16 in her first year and subsequently became the first reserve the following season, finishing essentially one spot from the main roster. Being so close only motivated Borchert to work twice as hard as her goal was now fully within reach.

"This whole experience taught me that it can be incredibly hard to keep pushing yourself when you don't get rewarded right away," Borchert said. "But I learned that if you have patience, trust the process, and never stop believing in your own capability, it will eventually pay off. That near-miss gave me the ultimate motivation to keep fighting."

Fast forward to the 2025-26 season, Borchert's debut collegiate campaign with Menlo, where she embraced her final opportunity to try out for the U20 National Team in the summer. Though she did not receive an invitation for the pre-selection initially, she took the initiative, contacting Head Coach Molly McDowell to ask about practicing with them since Borchert was looking to play basketball over the summer regardless. McDowell obliged and soon Borchert's dream was realized.

"To prepare, I pushed myself to the limit while finishing my year at Menlo, and the very day after flying back home, I jumped straight into practices," Borchert said. "In my final year of youth eligibility, all that hard work paid off and making the roster was one of the most rewarding moments of my career."

After making the cut, Borchert was suddenly traveling to Barcelos, Portugal for Team Netherlands' friendly games against the host nation, the Czech Republic, and Ireland. These contests served as important building blocks, revealing strengths and the areas to improve while developing the team's chemistry on and off the court.

The next destination was Samokov, Bulgaria where the FIBA U20 EuroBasket B-Division where the Dutch defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria en route to fifth place overall with Borchert seeing action in each of the final three contests.

"The experience was amazing, and I am so grateful I got to be there," Borchert said. "Seeing how differently every country plays and how we analyzed and broke down each opponent was fascinating to witness. Even though my role on the court was limited, being in that environment taught me so much about what it takes to compete at the highest level. I am incredibly proud of our hard-fought fifth-place finish, and I'm excited to bring this whole experience back with me to Menlo, keep building on it to push my game to the next level, and see what we can accomplish together as a team this upcoming season."