There’s something about Mary, the hustler with a pure soul

As the Tall Ferns dragged their heavy hearts off this week for a tour to Europe that suddenly seems so damn difficult, the family of beloved team-mate Mary Goulding have a simple message for Guy Molloy’s New Zealand women’s basketballers.

‘‘Her message to them would be to take heart, have faith and be strong,’’ Goulding’s sister Bernadette told Stuff this week after confirming the stricken basketballer was no longer in a critical condition following the devastating car accident she suffered in Rangiora on May 20. It was, the family said, the first ‘‘baby steps’’ down the road to recovery for the 26-year-old Cantabrian.

‘‘She would tell them to hustle for everything,’’ continued Bernadette.

‘‘She was the ultimate hustler on the court. She would say never give in, to go hard or go home, and she would say, ‘I’m with you in spirit’. She’d want them to band together.

She’s such a team player – all about caring for her team-mates on and off the court – so she’d want them to look out for one another, love one another and build one another up.’’

Indeed, the family sent the Ferns a message to this effect prior to their departure for the two-week tour of Europe that takes in games against Serbia, Poland and Turkey. It was read out to them when they gathered earlier this week, and the hope was it would allow them to take care of their business free of emotional encumbrances.

Goulding would have been on that tour, preparing the team for the important Fiba Asia Cup to take place in Sydney from June 26-July 2, but for the events in Rangiora that had her family fearing for her life in the days afterwards.

She had battled back from an Achilles tendon rupture suffered last August, had made the requisite impression at the selection camp (just days prior to the accident), and was set to add to the nine caps she had earned for the Ferns as this team finally got to emerge from the oppressive shadow of Covid.

Then fate intervened again, and the Ferns were robbed of an important team-mate, a driving force and a ray of light for their testing assignment that targets a top-four finish at the Asia Cup, to earn a spot at the final Olympic qualifying tournament.

It has hit them hard. Molloy spoke to Stuff about the hole in his heart and struggle to find a path through the despair he was feeling in the wake of Goulding’s accident. Every one of his players faced the same battle. Somehow they had to regroup to face some of the best basketball teams on the planet over the coming month.

Another of Goulding’s sisters (she is the second youngest of six children of Tim and Jennifer Goulding), Christchurch-based Celine, made her own plea to the

Tall Ferns: ‘‘Mary would want you guys to fight hard. She wouldn’t want to think this was a deterrent in any way. I know Mary wants the best for you guys. She’s fighting with you in spirit, and she was always caring about people, so she would say look after yourself and have faith.’’

Both sisters spoke of the tremendous outpouring of support the family had received from all corners of the globe through this ordeal.

Mary had played college hoops at, first, Gillette College in Wyoming before moving on to Fordham University in New York City. Then she had played professionally in Australia, Sweden and most recently in New Zealand for her hometown Mainland Pouākai in the Tauihi league.

‘‘The most beautiful thing for us has been to see how many lives Mary has touched and how loved she is,’’ said the sisters. ‘‘All those teams, and others, have reached out. All these people are wanting to know how is she, and for us to know they’re praying for her. It’s incredible the global presence that she has.

‘‘We’ve been overwhelmed by the support across the board. People have been cooking for us, and sending all sorts of love in so many different ways.

‘‘Mary in herself is incredible. She has such a strong faith as well and that’s touched a lot of lives, and a lot of people have seen that in the person she is and how that carries her through difficult times.’’

Mary, like all her family, is a devout Catholic and her sisters spoke about how her faith was her defining factor.

‘‘It really sets her apart,’’ said Celine. ‘‘People are drawn to her. Even people who have no faith were drawn to this beautiful charisma she has. Her faith has carried her through thick and thin, and all the tough times she’s experienced on her sporting journey.’’ When she went down last August with a ruptured Achilles tendon while playing for the Pouākai, Mary faced a massive battle to recover in time to put herself in the picture for the Tall Ferns in 2023.

‘‘She trained every day,’’ said Celine. ‘‘Her whole life was devoted to this recovery and her determination was remarkable. Playing for New Zealand has been her dream since she was a little kid. I remember her saying it to me at primary school.

‘‘And she’s been able to realise that dream.

‘‘Coming back from the Achilles and getting ready for this trip to Turkey, she couldn’t believe she had made it after such a long journey these last nine months.’’

Among all the messages, was there something that had struck a real chord with the family?

Bernadette: ‘‘We got a message from one of her team-mates in Sweden who said that Mary was such a pure soul and she can’t wait for Mary to get back to being her unique self again. She called her a pure soul and that seems to be the common message we’re getting from people who knew Mary.

‘‘It wasn’t about how talented she was on the basketball court, which she is, but it was about her character and her beautiful soul and beautiful faith that filled the room.’’

‘‘Playing for New Zealand has been her dream since she was a little kid. I remember her saying it to me at primary school. And she’s been able to realise that dream.’’ Celine Goulding sister of Mary Goulding, pictured