Mother McAuley’s Ava Little confirmed her father, Al, was tough on her growing up.
Tough love? He definitely provided it back then when he was teaching her how to play basketball. But he also offered some good old-fashioned love after one of her toughest moments this season.
“We played Kenwood and we were down by one with 10 seconds left,” Ava said. “I got fouled and I missed two free throws. After that game, he told me some stories about what had happened to him. That made me feel better.
“He’s my biggest supporter and he’s always there for me.”
Little hasn’t needed too much counseling from her father lately.
The sophomore forward has been a big spark for the Mighty Macs, including Thursday’s 65-55 win over Providence in the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals at Loyola in Wilmette.
Quinn Arundel led the Mighty Macs (22-5) with 28 points and added five steals. Taji Alexa tallied 14 points and eight rebounds. Little scored 11 points, including six in the final 2:47.
Little made two free throws with 40 seconds left, showing how far she has come since that Kenwood game.
“I go to work on my shooting during my study and lunch periods,” Ava said.
Despite being blanketed most of the night, Pepperdine-bound Landrie Callahan paced Providence (26-4) with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Kennady Kotowski sank four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to finish with 12 points.
This is the final year of the GCAC Tournament as the conference merges with the East Suburban Catholic. McAuley earned a spot in Saturday’s championship game against host Loyola (27-2).
Little has come up big the last three games for the Mighty Macs. She grabbed a rebound as the buzzer sounded in Friday’s 63-61 overtime win over archrival Marist. She hit a huge 3-pointer in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s quarterfinals, a 70-62 win over Aurora Central Catholic.
“Ava is someone who is extremely versatile,” McAuley coach Curtis Lewis said. “The best way I can describe her is that she just has no fear on the court.
“She has no fear and she can guard all five positions. A lot of times we are looking for a spark off the bench to get some energy and she does everything we ask her to do.”
Arundel has also become a fan of Little.
“She has made a huge impact on our team,” Arundel said of Little. “She works really hard and she’s not scared to go up against a big post.
“She rebounds and she’s always on the floor getting the loose balls. She doesn’t play like a sophomore. She plays like she’s older than everyone else on the court.”
Coming off the bench isn’t easy, but Little agreed she will do what the team needs.
“They definitely use me a lot on the top of the press,” she said. “But I’ll do whatever he (Lewis) asks. It’s better to be a versatile player than to be able to do one specific thing and nothing else.”
A few hours before the game, both teams found out that they picked up the No. 1 seeds in their respective sectionals.
The Mighty Macs are the top seed in a Class 4A sectional they host, followed by Marist, Bloom and Homewood Flossmoor. Providence earned the top seed at the Class 3A Hillcrest Sectional.
No matter what happens in the postseason, however, Little has been pleased with playing on the varsity this winter.
“I love this season so much,” she said. “My teammates took me in and treated me like I was a part of the team and I thank them forever.
“They are all so nice and I love being around them.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
