By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

At Friday morning’s shootaround, Kent Roosevelt sophomore Grace Schoenberger was still in the starting lineup for the team’s matchup at rival Ravenna.

Ava Elliott goes up for a layup for Kent Roosevelt.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

By Friday afternoon, that had changed.

And by Schoenberger’s own choice.

She had sought out Rough Riders head coach Craig Foreman before the start of the game with an idea for the team’s gameplan.

Her idea?

Pull her from the starting lineup.

In Schoenberger’s eyes, Friday was a moment for fellow sophomore and friend Ava Elliott.

Elliott has spent the last 10 months recovering from a torn ACL and meniscus in her right knee and after being cleared three weeks ago for practices without limitations and no setbacks, her doctors approved her to play in her first game on Friday.

“Grace came to me and said that I should start Ava in her place tonight,” Foreman said. “At first, I wondered if it was too much pressure for Ava to start and that maybe it would be more of a relief for her to come off the bench. Thankfully, I realized I was thinking too much and that she deserved a moment like this.

“I watched my son battle through two torn ACLs, so I know exactly what Ava has been through,”Foreman added. “I have watched her unbelievable determination in practice. She always wants to do more, wants to work more. She practically demands it.”

Rough Riders forward Lindsay Wills goes up for a layup in front of Ravenna defenders Miriyha Sandifer (2) and Jalysia Thompson.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

So Elliott had her name called by the Public Address announcer as one of the Riders’ starters on Friday.

Then, moments later, fate came full circle when Roosevelt’s first basket of the night came on a 3-pointer by Elliot for an emotional start to the Riders’ dominating 51-17 non-league win over the Ravens.

“You know, I am standing there as the coach of the team, but watching Ava hit that shot, the dad in me came out,” Foreman said. “What an amazing moment for her. She was on a minutes restriction tonight, but every time she was on the court, I felt like the energy of her being out there kept giving us an extra boost.”

Elliott’s 3 to open the game set the stage for 31 unanswered points to start the game for Roosevelt (9-3). Not until a made free throw by Ravenna’s Miriyha Sandifer with 49.1 seconds left before halftime did the Ravens (4-7) get on the board.

Kent Roosevelt was led in scoring by Lindsay Wills, who connected on 5-of-6 from the floor and 2-of-3 from the free-throw line to score 12 points. She also had five steals.

Wills was joined in double figures by Schoenberger, who had 11 points, including three 3-pointers, and Claire VanDamme, who had 10 points and seven rebounds.

In total, eight different Rough Riders reached the scoring column.

Defensively, the Riders consistently disrupted Ravenna’s offense with a variety of defensive looks, moving in and out of six different sets throughout the game.

Riders guard Grace Schoenberger looks for an open teammate to pass to.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

“This is the first time in a long time that I have a team that can press the full length of the court,” Foreman said. “We can do a lot of different things, make a lot of changes and switches, which is a credit to their athleticism and intelligence that they can change on the fly so easily like that.”

Speaking to Schoenberger’s selfless act to have Elliott replace her in the starting lineup, Foreman said it was a continued sign of growth as a leader.

“I think it was a great sign of what Grace is going through right now. She is maturing by leaps and bounds in a lot of leadership ways,” Foreman said. “More and more she is adapting her game on the court to be a little bit more of a point guard and facilitator, and she has continued to show that she will take care of anyone. Her volunteering herself out of the starting lineup is like one of her final steps to being a true leader on this team.”

And when Schoenberger subbed in for her a couple minutes into the first quarter, the two shared a hug on the court.