Last week, Marian Catholic’s Ty Jackson breathed a sigh of relief after picking a college.
The senior guard committed to Southwestern Illinois in Belleville, where she will play basketball and study law enforcement.
“It’s such a relief,” Jackson said of her decision. “I’m really excited.”
On Wednesday night, Jackson breathed another sigh of relief.
She was a big factor as the host Spartans snapped a six-game losing streak, scoring 18 points to spark a 41-26 East Suburban Catholic Conference win over Joliet Catholic in Chicago Heights.
Marian Catholic (9-13, 1-6) had been winless since before Christmas, and in the Spartans’ last three losses, they scored 35 points each game.
“I don’t feel like we played out best,” Jackson said. “But it was a good relief to win. It was just like a deep breath.”
“Any player — I don’t care what age you are — any win is going to be a good one,” Marian coach Mike Taylor said. “I think we played better in the losses, but they needed a confidence builder.”
Jackson, who scored all seven points for Marian in Wednesday’s third quarter, finished with seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Nyila Williams had six points, five rebounds and two steals.
Gabrielle Gavin led JCA (10-10, 1-5) with eight points. Emma Birsa added seven.
It’s been a different experience this winter for Jackson, who has been on the varsity since her freshman season and has been on three teams that made it to a Class 3A supersectional.
“I’m trying to stay positive and keep everyone’s head high,” Jackson said. “No matter what we are going through and what kind of adversity we have have to fight through, we fight through together.
“We just want to get better. Even though we played really tough teams, we try to win but we want to get better as a team.”
Williams, a senior guard/forward who will be giving up basketball and is hoping to study music in college, appreciates Jackson’s leadership.
“She definitely brings in a lot of experience,” Williams said. “She has a lot of seniority as she has been with those teams that were successful and had big winning streaks.
“She brings all of that energy with her, and she’s always positive and always trying to get the team up. She doesn’t worry about any negativity.”
Still, it has been a different dynamic for the Spartans, who have gone through two coaching changes since last summer.
“I’ve tried to stay positive through it all,” Jackson said. “I’m a religious person. I pray about it and we just keep working.”
Taylor, a Hall of Fame boys basketball coach, took over the girls program six games into the season and looked for a leader to step up.
He got one in Jackson.
“She’s been good to coach,” Taylor said of Jackson. “We’re asking a lot out of her. We’re going to continue to ask more of her. She’s responded really well. She knows we’re going to challenge her.
“She’s starting to understand that. Hopefully, she’s going to finish her senior season with a bang.”
The 5-foot-11 Jackson said that she was always tall and refused to play the sport because she didn’t want to be stereotyped because of her height.
Once she began with basketball, however, it was a different story.
“I started in sixth grade just to give it a try and then COVID happened,” she said. “I started training and realized that I enjoyed playing and tried to get better at it every single day.
“I became very competitive. Basketball is a safe space for me to get away from school and stuff. I love the relationships with my teammates and coaches and it’s really a fun environment.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.