All season during practice, Marshall coach Dorothy Gaters gave Rhonda Greyer the message.
“I talk to her all the time,” Gaters said. “But I can’t tell you what I said to her.”
Well, coach, the 6-foot-1-inch junior has let out the little secret.
Here it is: “She says to me, I’m the tallest thing out there. And I can do anything if I put my mind to it.”
And Greyer got the message, scoring 10 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in Marshall’s 82-69 victory over Taylorville in the title game of the Chicago Public League Christmas tournament Monday night at Mother McAuley.
The victory kept second-ranked Marshall unbeaten at 13-0 and sent Taylorville, last season’s runner-up to Class AA champ Loyola, to its first loss in 15 games.
“I thought we played well,” Gaters said. “Our guards really controlled the tempo. I thought we played smart.”
Kimya Murray was one of those guards, and “smart” in this game must have meant her 24 points and 10 rebounds. With Kourtney Walton in foul trouble, others stepped up for Gaters: Sabrina Minter (18 points), freshman Cappie Pondexter (12) and substitute Chenise Jenkins (10).
Illinois-bound Allison Curtin finished with 30 points and eight rebounds for Taylorville in an effort that almost was good enough to overcome Marshall. Taylorville got off to a fast start, taking a 24-16 lead at the end of the first quarter–with Curtin scoring 13 of those points.
But Greyer started crashing the boards in the second quarter and the Commandos took a 40-38 halftime lead.
Taylorville coach Carol Wilson thought that the barrage of Marshall three-pointers–the winners hit nine of 13–was too much for the Tornadoes to overcome.
“I don’t know what they shot from the three-point line,” Wilson said. “But it makes it hard to play defense on them.”
Gaters not only talks to Greyer, she talks to Murray, too.
“Coach says as soon as I get the ball, shoot,” the 5-5 junior said.
Those orders followed, Murray rang up five three-pointers for the game.
The team from Campolindo, Calif., took third with a 78-68 victory over St. Peter’s of Staten Island, N.Y. Katie Cornfield’s 12 points helped host school McAuley (10-3) whip Morgan Park (10-4) 60-33 for fifth.
