High school basketball in the west-suburban DuPage Valley Conference is all about solid screens and midrange jumpers, so when an underclassman dunks during a varsity game, the fans still go nuts. Especially when that underclassman is an underclasswoman.
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“Hey, where’s Candace?” she calls, pointing to a basketball that’s wedged between the rim and backboard. “We need some help.”
He laughs politely, and a Fenwick player dislodges the stuck ball with another ball.
Parker bats the opening tip-off toward a teammate, but Hoskins intercepts it. She manages two field goals in the early minutes, and then Parker introduces herself by blocking–catching, really–one of Hoskins’s shots and firing a quick outlet pass that freshman guard Erika Carter converts with a layup. But Parker misses her own first two shots, drawing contact on each but no whistle, and Naperville calls a time-out.
Nobody in the gym expects a tight finish, but when the game resumes Parker picks up her third and fourth fouls in quick succession, attempting to cut off drives by Jefferson and Hoskins. (After the game she’ll grouse about these calls, but they’re fair–unexpected in a physical game, but not undeserved.) Redhawks head coach Andy Nussbaum pulls her out–there are six minutes remaining, and they’re up 48-36. But the team looks tentative on offense without her, and Chaminade forces some turnovers. Hoskins bulls into the lane for consecutive layups, and her teammates find room to shoot.
Then she turns her attention to the gathering throng of young girls. They want autographs, they want pictures. They sheepishly compliment Parker as she bends down to sign shoes, programs, T-shirts. She poses for snapshots, her long arms draped around girls half her size. It’s a sweet, generous exchange that lasts as long as it needs to, until everyone is satisfied. She’s still at it when the next game starts.
