MYTHICAL STATE CHAMPS?
We’ll never know, but Marist coach Connolly certain ‘we had all of the pieces that fit together’
A couple of thoughts and a quick story as we close the books on a girls basketball season that took forever to arrive and ended in the blink of an eye.
In my mind, there’s no question the No. 1 team in the Southland was Marist.
The RedHawks (15-1) played a tough schedule. The only other ranked team with one just as tough was No. 2 Marian Catholic, and Marist won both head-to-head meetings.
Now onto the quick story, which involves the incredibly wild, frustrating start to their season.
Anticipation and excitement was in the air on a Thursday in late January when Marist held its first practice. There was another on Friday, before tryouts on Saturday and Sunday, and another scrimmage on Monday.
Marist coach Mary Pat Connolly, however, received some startling news on Tuesday.
“Somebody came to tryouts that tested positive for COVID,” Connolly said. “They didn’t know they had it. It really took us off guard.”
It resulted in a two-week quarantine for the players and coaches. Talk about a momentum killer. Three games had to be canceled or rescheduled.
“Needless to say, we were all crushed,” Connolly said. “We went through all the stages of emotions. At first we were really, really upset. Then we were sad. Then we were asking questions about why it happened and how it could have been avoided.
“By the end of the quarantine, we were just really angry. The girls had a chip on their shoulders. They were ready to just play. I think that edge, that anger, that chip, kind of carried us through the whole season.”
Marist’s first game came on Feb. 16 against St. Ignatius. The RedHawks were definitely ready, winning 49-32 behind 16 points from Le’lani Harris
and 13 by Iowa commit Sydney Affolter.
It was the beginning of a whirlwind “season” in which the RedHawks played 16 games in four weeks.
I’ll tell you what. I saw them play a handful of times, and in all of the conversations I had with players, I didn’t pick up on any negativity or anger. I’m sure the chip was there, but they channeled it totally in the right direction.
According to Connolly, by the end, they even had a sense of humor about there being no state tournament.
“We pretended that the ESCC was our state championship,” Connolly said. “We said, ‘OK, the first game is for a regional title.’ When we won that, we said that the second game was for a sectional title. Then the last game was for the state title.”
The RedHawks completed their journey with a 53-44 win over Marian Catholic. Affolter put an exclamation point on it with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
But Affolter had help. From Harris. Emily Bojan. Kira Chivers. Elise Ward. Mary Clare Brusek. And there were even more contributors.
That’s because all the way down to the end of the bench, they were in it.
“This was a really special team,” Connolly said. “We had a stud senior. We had great leadership. And the chemistry was great. We had all of the pieces that fit together.”
Oh, what could have been.
Hail the champs
Marist wasn’t the only team feeling like a state champion.
Thornwood won the Southland Athletic Conference after a dramatic victory over Kankakee. Lincoln-Way West prevailed in the SouthWest Suburban Red. Oak Forest was the Blue Division and overall champion in the South Suburban Conference, while Oak Lawn was victorious in the South Suburban Red.
Super sophs
As I proofread it from start to finish, the question that came up over and over in my the mind about the all-area team was “another sophomore?”
Crazy. Of the seven selected, Oak Forest’s Janae Kent and Marian Catholic’s Brianna Hill were first team selections. Trust me, they were that good. Homewood-Flossmoor’s Alyssa Latham and Joliet Catholic’s Jasmine Brown were right with them as second team selections.
Of them all, Kent was the absolute dominator. She earned South Suburban Blue Player of the Year honors. The college offers are already rolling in. Next season, when the Bengals can hopefully play a complete schedule, she’ll have a chance to really show her stuff.
Bring on the junior achievement.