Steward's 'Donate Life' game about more than just basketball

There are games, and then there are very special games.

The “specialness” might result from the spirit and passion with which the teams compete or the back-and-forth of action that has rapt spectators sitting on the edge of their bleacher seats or the adrenaline-fueled drama that players, coaches, and fans recall in intricate detail years later.

It’s the against-all-odds comeback, the upset for the ages, or the heart-stopping shot at the buzzer that sends the winning team’s faithful into a state of ecstasy.

Or it’s the cause for which the game is played, which can remind us that the game is just that — a game — and the cause is, well, life.

Thursday night, Steward’s girls basketball team hosted Catholic (Virginia Beach) in its annual Donate Life game to raise awareness about the importance of registering to become an organ, eye, and tissue donor.

The event had its genesis in 2020 when the team honored Latasha Traynham, a double lung transplant recipient and the mother of Mimi Traynham, who played for the Spartans and graduated in 2021.

Before Steward took on the Crusaders, Coach Kara Bacile recognized Wallace Inge, her longtime assistant who this past October 27 courageously and selflessly donated part of his liver to a family member who was in dire need of a transplant.

“We’ve all seen from multiple people in our community how much of a difference organ donation can make and how many lives can be saved by checking a box,” Bacile said. “You never know who you can impact, and you never know when it’s going to impact you.

“For us, if we’re just working on X’s and O’s, we’re not really doing our job. Right? We have to get these kids prepared for life, and giving back to others is the most important thing.”

Following a pre-game ceremony in which Bacile presented Inge with a basketball inscribed with “One Life Saved” and the passage “To whom much is given, much is expected” from Luke 12:48, the Crusaders (9-7) bolted to an early lead enroute to a 77-50 victory.

Playing aggressive, harrying man-to-man designed to create offensive opportunities, they forced 14 first-half turnovers, used an 18-2 run in the second quarter to blow the game open, and headed to the locker room with a commanding 43-20 lead.

“We really try to play a college-style offense and defense,” said Catholic coach Billy Stokes, whose team plays a national schedule. “We try to get up on you. We try to double (team) ball screens. We try to create chaos and make sure we can rotate in the back end. 

“We want to push the ball. We have great guards who make great decisions including Siniyah Ross and Sydney Youngblood, the freshman. We let them make the decisions of what they see. Then, we try to be get into something offensively and be patient and share the ball. The more we share the ball, the better we are.”

Though they trailed by 23 points at the break, the Spartans (11-4) refused to go quietly.

Avery Peterson, a 5-9 sophomore, opened the third quarter with a bucket from close range at 7:50, then hit a free throw at 7:24.

Savannah Martin (12 points) drained a 3-pointer from the left wing at 7:13, then followed with a transition layup off a turnover at 5:28.

After Stokes called time to settle his crew, Peterson drove through the Crusaders’ man at 4:58 to complete a 10-0 run and cut Steward’s deficit to 43-30, but Lauryn Loritts and Ross hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to get Catholic back on track.

“At the end of the first half, you could see it: we were kind of defeated,” said Lilly Thoman, a 5-6 senior guard and U.S. Military Academy commit who finished with 15 points. “We came back here (to the locker room), and Kara got us right. 

“She said we needed to slow down and chip away, so all we were going to do was win the quarter. That’s what we focused on doing.”

The Crusaders thwarted Steward’s comeback with a 13-4 run to end the third period, then used a 21-16 fourth to put an exclamation mark on their victory.  

“It’s tough to prepare for them because it’s hard to mimic in practice: their length, their aggression, their strength, and how well they move the ball and shoot the ball,” Bacile said. “We do our best to prepare, but until you’re out there, you don’t feel it.

“Really for us, it’s go out and play tough, try and take away some of their tendencies, and just play hard.”

Steward hit 18-of-42 shots, collected 27 rebounds, and committed 24 turnovers. Catholic shot 30-for-53, collected 25 rebounds, and committed 10 rebounds. For the visitors, Riley Lynch scored 21 points, Ross and Justice Brown-Jones 18 apiece, and Loritts 10.

“We knew coming into this that we couldn’t just go out there and work on skills because they’re all Power 5, DI players,” Thoman said. “But we have a lot of heart. Our goal was to win with our heads. And Donate Life was the game today. We had a reason to be out there.”