Cassie Smythe, deserving of some good fortune for a change, got it on Thursday night. A senior guard on the Eden girls basketball team, she contributed a pair of three-pointers to the Raiders' 55-33 win over Roy-Hart in a Section VI Class B-1 final played at ECC.
"That kid's had a crappy year," said coach Marisa Fallacaro. "Her mother passed away during the season. She tore her ACL last year and that kid has come back from everything. Then at practice [on Wednesday] she sprained her ankle. If you look at her ankle, it's the size of a tennis ball.
"I can't even explain what kind of kid she is," Fallacaro added. "I've had two ACL surgeries, so I know what it's like. And then this year the stuff she's gone through. I can't believe the kind of player she is."
Smythe's second three-pointer at the start of the second quarter gave her team the lead for good at 16-13. Eden went on to outscore Roy-Hart, 17-4, in the quarter breaking open a close game.
Smythe has been playing with a heavy heart since the death of her mother, Sandra (Steislinger) Smythe on Dec. 27.
"It's hard, but I just fight through everything," said Smythe, her right foot submerged in a cooler of ice water. "As a team, we came out together and we played really good. That's all I can ask for. They pull together for me. It was great because I couldn't do as much as I normally do."
--- Mary Jo Monnin
tagged
Eden
