Rosary honors Walker in emotional opener
Rosary had a little more than normal first-game jitters Monday.
The Royals opened their season with a 52-28 victory over IMSA, an outcome that took a back seat to the program's ceremony before the game for former sophomore coach Scott Walker who died of a heart attack this past summer at the age of 47.
In the pregame ceremony athletic director Mary Lou Kunold and Rosary coach Dave Beebe both spoke. They recalled everything from how much Walker loved telling stories about his Aurora Central days to Walker's passion for music, especially the Beatles.
Kunold told the crowd what a great chance they had to honor Walker's memory by always thanking someone who has helped them. Rosary dedicated a crucifix in the gym in Walker's memory.
“I've never been through anything like this before and hopefully I don't have to do it again,” Beebe said after the game. “It was a great tribute to Coach and everything but I kind of wondered mentally what it was going to do to our kids. They did a lot better than I thought mentally but I think some of them struggled going through it.”
Walker coached the sophomore team at Rosary from 2002 through last year compiling a 132-65 record including the Suburban Catholic Conference title in 2008 with a 21-4 record. Walker also coached the Royals golf team in 2008 and 2009.
After Kunold and Beebe spoke, each one of the players came up and told the crowd antidotes about how they knew Walker was their coach.
They were often humorous, such as “When you hear a foot stomping, you know you played for coach Walker,” or “When your coach comes to practice on a bicycle, you know you played for coach Walker.”
“We went over what he did for us, the seniors sat down and thought of incorporating everyone as a team and that's what we came up with,” senior Breann Maryanski said. “We thought it would be more personal.
“We really wanted to play for Coach Walker and just honor him.”
He would have had nothing to stomp his feet about Monday when it came to the Royals' defense. Rosary (1-0) gave IMSA fits with its full court press, forcing 16 turnovers in the opening 8 minutes for a 16-2 lead after the first quarter.
After Courtney Bila assisted Taylor Gibson for the first basket, Maryanski went to work inside with Rosary's next 8 points. She scored 12 points in the quarter.
Beebe substituted liberally throughout, playing his bench the entire second and fourth quarters and about half of the third. He also called off his press to start the second half with Rosary leading 29-6, and the Titans' turnovers dropped from 26 in the first half to 10 in the second.
Maryanski, the one veteran returning to a team that graduated three four-year starters, finished with a game-high 14 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals. Rachel Rivera and Mary Wentworth both came off the bench to score 8 points.
“I think we can play a lot better,” Maryanski said. “I think everyone was nervous. We just have to keep working, communicating and playing as a team.”
Neither coach was happy with how their team shot free throws. Rosary made just 8 of 25 and IMSA 11 of 26.
“That was brutal,” Beebe said. “That was probably the worst we have shot free throws since I've been here. The good news is we got to the line a lot.”
Alexandra Smick led IMSA (0-1) with 9 points. Outscoring Rosary 15-7 in the fourth quarter gives coach IMSA coach Keith McIntosh hope for better results starting Tuesday night when his team plays Reed-Custer in their own Titan Classic.
“We start on Nov. 1. We don't have our girls in the summer,” McIntosh said. “Rosary showed us varsity level ball. (They) set the example for us. I can talk and talk as a coach but until you get to one of these teams and see how they play, they don't mess around. They guard.
“We stated taking care of some things in the second half. We'll get better from here.”
The Royals plan to do just the same as they get ready for their annual trip to the Geneva Thanksgiving Tournament which boasts an even stronger field this year. Rosary won't have trouble finding inspiration all season.
“He (Walker) helped me a lot just being a freshman on the sophomore team he helped me get used to it and I really looked up to him,” Maryanski said.
“We always had fun together,” Beebe said. “Game time is game time but afterward we always had fun. He was a great guy. That is a devastating loss for the program. Hopefully like Mary Lou said we can take what he taught with us.”