The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Rock sets standard for assists at Mayfield
Scooting up to the edge of her seat in the bleachers at Mayfield’s gymnasium, young Catherine Rock watched as Hallie Rubino zipped the ball around the court to teammates, feeding them the ball for easy shots.
For eight straight years, Rock learned from the best as a spectator. From 20062010, she marveled at the ball-handling wizardry of Hope Mancini running the point for the Wildcats, and then she watched four years of Rubino doing the same.
Apparently, Rock learned those lessons well.
With a sharp pass to teammate Reagan Sovchen in a recent game, Rock achieved her 338th career assist — a program record.
Earlier this season, Rock dished out her 282nd career assist to pass Mancini, who was number two on the all-time list.
Now the list is, in order, Rock, Rubino and Mancini.
A reality Rock herself finds difficult to fathom.
“It’s really cool for me,” she said. “I went to a lot of games when I was younger. I saw (Rubino and Mancini) play and I always looked up to them. To be in the same conversation with them is pretty cool.”
In junior high, Rock had the makings of a highscoring guard. To a point, she’s that same player today, leading the Wildcats in scoring at 14.1 point per game.
But ever since he got to high school, she has prided herself on passing.
She has led Mayfield in assists in each of the past three seasons, though she gives more credit to the likes of former teammates Katelyn Kinczel and Julia DeBaltzo — who scored many points off Rock passes — than taking credit herself.
“I’ve had some great teammates,” Rock said.
Coach Ryan Looman agrees, but indicated Rock deserves a lot of credit for his program’s success the past four years.
“Catherine really is a dynamic player who has tremendous court vision and a great calming sense to her game,” he said. “She’s one of the most selfless players that I’ve ever coached. She can get up and down the court with the best of them and put the ball in the hoop, but she also has the unique ability to pass a teammate open.”
Sometimes the passes are so crisp, they’re TOO good.
“Her game is so smooth that she makes the difficult pass look so incredibly easy,” Looman said. “We often joke that a decent amount of turnovers she has are because she sees and executes a pass before her teammates can even react to them. We tell our younger players especially that if you’re on the court with Catherine, you’d better be alert at all times because you ever know when she’s gonna see something and get you the ball when you least expect it.”
Rock is one of the area’s most complete players. Not only does she average 14.1 points, but also 6.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.6 steals per game.
When asked which part of her game in which she takes the most pride, her answer wasn’t surprising.
“When I got to high school, I realized how important passing was,” she said. “As a point guard, that’s my job — to get my teammates involved and put them in position to score.
“I didn’t even know I was close to the record,” she continued. “When coach Looman said I broke it, I thought he was kidding. He left it to be a surprise, which I thought was nice.”
Whenever Rock makes her final pass for an assist with the Wildcats, it will be the last of her career. She said she isn’t planning on playing college basketball, but rather to focus on life after basketball.
“I don’t know where I am going yet (to college). But I’m going to focus on my school and major in biology,” she said. “I want to go into the medical field and go to medical school someday.”
Not only is Rock a top performer in girls basketball. She was also a firstteam News-Herald all-star as a midfielder in soccer, and is a middle-distance runner in track for the Wildcats.
Looman said Rock’s contributions go beyond statistics.
“Her work ethic in the offseason is unmatched and her academics are off the charts,” he said. “Her will to succeed provides a perfect example for our younger players. She really has been our Rock.”
In more ways — and in more sports — than one.