Ward dedicates play to grandfather: ‘I’m doing it for him’
Junior guard seeks redemption for Marist
The Marist girls basketball team entered Wednesday physically depleted, having just suffered its first loss of the season to Bolingbrook the previous night.
For junior guard Elise Ward, the exhaustion also was emotional.
Ward spent Tuesday morning attending the funeral of her grandfather, who had been a huge supporter of her team. Dealing with so much loss in a matter of hours, it would have been understandable for her to need more time to recover.
Instead, only one night later, Ward was the spark plug for the RedHawks, who badly needed a bounce-back victory. They got it as Ward scored 17 points, including seven in the first quarter, to help Marist to a 50-37 win over Lincoln-Way Central in Chicago.
“It was hard enough with the day I had with my grandpa,” Ward said. “I just wanted to make sure I’m doing it for him, but also doing it for my team and myself — just prove we were a better team than we showed yesterday.”
Ward was determined to hammer that home from the start for Marist (4-1), scoring on a putback and breakaway layup during an early sequence in the first quarter.
Minutes later, she hit a 3-pointer, eventually scoring all but four of the RedHawks’ 11 points in the quarter.
Ward’s effort and determination earned high praise from her coach, especially after an unimaginably taxing 24 hours.
“She’s just an incredible athlete,” Marist coach Mary Pat Connolly said of Ward. “A true basketball player. She was pretty drained yesterday, but she got a good night’s rest and wanted to get back to what we do well.”
Despite the strong start from Ward, Lincoln-Way Central (5-2) wasn’t about to make life easy for Marist.
Junior guard Azyah NewsonCole
matched Ward shot for shot in the first quarter, scoring seven points and keeping the Knights within striking distance.
Newson-Cole finished with 12 points, rarely stepping off the court. Her offense, along with her refusal to take a breather, frequently prevented the RedHawks from going on any significant runs throughout the game.
“She’s a dynamic player,” Lincoln-Way Central coach Dave Campanile said of Newson-Cole. “She’s a girl that never really gives us a reason to take her off.
“Her endurance and stamina out there, her work ethic offensively and defensively, she’s someone that’s a staple and has been for the last three years.”
Even though Newson helped keep the Knights within arm’s reach on the scoreboard, Marist stretched the lead thanks to crucial performances in the second half from seniors Le’lani Harris and Mary Clare Brusek.
Harris scored 12 points and Brusek added 13, including eight in the final 16 minutes.
Their contributions helped Marist put Tuesday’s loss in the rearview mirror.
“We wanted to step up our game,” Brusek said. “We talked before in the locker room about how we can’t forget about that game. We’ll just use that as fuel to motivate us for the rest of the season.”
The RedHawks now get a much-needed breather, not having to play again until Saturday’s nonconference game against Phillips.
For Ward, it’s an opportunity to recover from what already has been a grueling week.
But in spite of everything she has been through, her focus and that of her teammates is exactly where it was before Wednesday’s game — on doing whatever they can to turn their first defeat into a distant memory.
“I think some people came in with a chip on their shoulder,” Ward said. “We were just ready to play and make sure we don’t have the feeling of that loss ever again.”