By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Leadership roles can always be forever growing.

Even for a player like Julia Nash.

The Kent Roosevelt senior point guard is already a four-year starter, team captain and school record-holder.

On Friday night, though, her coach noticed her take another step forward in her maturation as a player — and as a leader.

Nash was absolutely part of the pulse of the game through the first three quarters of action, but with Aurora making a concerted effort to try to keep the ball out of the hands of the Rough Riders’ playmaker, she was content with deferring to her teammates.

When the game mattered most, though, Nash was right there ready to take center stage with a series of game-defining plays that ultimately led the Riders to a 38-27 Suburban League American Conference victory over the visiting Greenmen on Friday.

“I thought Julia played a very smart game tonight,” Foreman said. “She played really well off the ball through the majority of the game, but when it was time to make an impact, the ball was back in her hands. I feel a game like tonight and how Julia approached it was a huge step in her leadership.”

Nash’s impact came on both sides of the court and in a game that was a close, defensive struggle throughout, there were two fourth-quarter plays that resulted in a six-point swing that gave the Riders (4-2, 2-2) a much-needed cushion.

The first came with Aurora in transition for what looked like would be an easy layup. However, Nash closed in behind the Greenmen player and blocked the shot attempt on the way up. Once Roosevelt secured the loose ball, Nash pushed it the other way and found teammate Claire VanDamme on the right wing. VanDamme took the pass, never hesitated, and the 6-foot-3 post raised up for the 3-pointer that was pure.

A minute later, a Roosevelt turnover in its own defensive half while trying to break the Aurora press, again looked like trouble, but Nash swiped the ball right back again.

Seconds later, she sank a stepback 3 from the top of the arc to give Roosevelt a 30-21 fourth-quarter lead at the time.

Aurora was far from done fighting, though.

Brooke Manav quickly answered with a 3 of her own to cut the deficit to 30-24, then Brooke Pierce completed a conventional three-point play to get even closer at 30-27 with 2:30 to play.

Aurora (2-5, 1-3) appeared like it was going to get closer, too, but once again, Nash was there to make a gem of a defensive play.

This time on a chase-down block after Roosevelt turned the ball over in its own defensive half and Aurora was seemingly headed toward a sure-fire layup.

On the other side, Nash helped move the offense to find freshman Grace Schoenberger in the right corner for a 3-pointer that lifted Roosevelt’s lead to 34-27 at the 1:12 mark.

“Julia has been an impact defensive player for us since her freshman year, but because she is such a special player on offense, her defense can sometimes go unnoticed,” Foreman said. 

Schoenberger’s 3 was followed by going 4-of-4 from the free-throw line as time ticked away to secure the victory for the Riders. Her strong finish, scoring all seven of her points in the game’s final 75 seconds, was a stark contrast to how her game started, when she was forced to the bench after picking up two quick fouls on the perimeter in the game’s opening minute.

“We are only five games into the season and Grace is only five games into her high-school career, but being tough mentally is something we continue to work on with her, and I think she needed that kind of finish tonight to show herself that she can impact the game even after going through a tough time,” Foreman said. “She was frustrated when she had to sit in the first quarter, but we told her to take the time to let the game come back to you, because it will and it did. Learning that kind of patience is a big thing.”

Scoring was hard to come by in the game, with Roosevelt leading 8-4 after the first quarter, then Aurora taking a 13-11 lead into halftime. The Rough Riders outscored the Greenmen 11-6 in the third quarter and led 22-19 going into the final quarter.

Roosevelt’s defense held Aurora to only 14 points in the second half, with another freshman, Ava Elliot, making her mark on the game.

Elliot finished with zero points and did not even attempt a field goal, but played nearly every minute of the second half, with her top assignment being the on-ball defender on Aurora’s point guards in an attempt to slow down the initiation of the offense.

It worked and Roosevelt rarely let Aurora find a true rhythm offensively in the final 16 minutes of the game.

“Playing defense is one of the things that Ava does really well,” Foreman said. “She is very long, athletic, quick and does not really get tired. We definitely made a concerted decision to put her on the ball defensively and she did a great job for us.”

Pierce was Aurora’s top offensive scorer with eight points, while Nash’s nine points led Roosevelt.