West Baltimore native Ronnetta Pollard had been screaming all game, her screeching voice echoing through the surrounding noise in the CFG Bank Arena during a quarterfinal game of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association’s women’s basketball tournament Thursday.
Neither the rocking bands and energetic opposing cheerleaders nor the other howling fans could drown out her distinctive hollers as Winston-Salem State and Shaw University played.
But in the game’s closing moments, when her daughter, MaKenzie Pollard, a 5-foot-9 senior guard for Shaw, scored two critical baskets — her only buckets of the contest — Ronnetta’s previous shrieks gave way to silence.
Her body began involuntarily shaking in her seat as tears rolled down her smooth caramel cheeks.
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“I was crying because I know how bad she wanted this, with it being her senior year,” said Ronnetta.
The “this” that she was referring to was the 54-48 come-from-behind win over the Lady Rams, propelling No. 6 seed Shaw toward a surprising berth to face the Lady Lions of Lincoln University, the No. 2 seed, who has beaten them twice this year, at 8 p.m. tonight in the CIAA semifinals.
At halftime of Thursday’s game against Winston-Salem State, a team that had soundly defeated Shaw 56-43 on Jan. 7, Shaw trailed 32-23.
MaKenzie was scoreless at that point, missing her first seven shots. But her body language belied the fact that she was struggling offensively. She hovered around the top of their defensive press and half-court zone with purpose, along with being a willing passer and supportive teammate. She slid her feet superbly to cut off the Lady Rams’ passing lanes, clapping and exhorting her teammates to keep the pressure on as they rallied back.
And when the moment arrived in the game’s final minutes, she answered with two tough layups in the crowded paint that gave her team a late lead and eventually helped secure the victory.
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The stat sheet may have been dominated by Brittiney Seymour, a 6-foot-1 senior forward/center from Ewing, New Jersey, who finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds, but Pollard and her teammates contributed mightily to limiting the Lady Rams to shooting a paltry 6-for-28 during their second-half comeback.
“MaKenzie’s had tough games before on the offensive end, she had a tough game today scoring the ball, but she wasn’t scared to take and make those tough shots at the end of the game,” said Shaw head coach Jacques Curtis. “That got us going in the game’s decisive moments.”
“Most players having a rough night on the offensive end would have shied away from taking shots with the game on the line,” Curtis continued. “But she wasn’t.”
MaKenzie grew up in a competitive household where all her four siblings were athletes. She fell in love with basketball at the age of 8, slightly awkward with big feet that were a mismatch with her diminutive stature. But by her freshman year at Milford Mill High School, she’d grown into those long feet and was starting on the varsity squad.
She transferred to Western High School for her senior year, and the Doves advanced to the city championship game.
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MaKenzie accepted a scholarship to St. Frances University in Pennsylvania. But the coaches who recruited her had been fired by the time she stepped on campus.
“I stayed there for two years but was craving a different experience,” said MaKenzie. “I wanted to finish my career at an HBCU school, and Coach Curtis at Shaw told me that he, the program and the school would have my back. I put my trust in him and the school, and I’m so glad I did.”
“MaKenzie was always determined to work hard and achieve, even as a little kid with those big feet,” said Ronnetta, chuckling slightly at the recollection.
The family sacrificed for their kids’ interest in sports, traveling up, down and throughout the country to take them to dance competitions and summer basketball tournaments.
Ronnetta saw the blossoming gift that MaKenzie had early on once she became enamored with hoops.
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“It was just her determination and drive, and that’s been there as far back as elementary school,” said Ronnetta. “This has always been her dream.”
The excitement of the moment following the quarterfinal win wouldn’t last long. After all, MaKenzie, an exercise science major with a 3.7 GPA, and her teammates have larger goals in mind.
“It feels surreal,” she said in the bowels of the arena shortly after the win over Winston-Salem. “But at the same time, I know the job’s not done yet. We’re in the CIAA Final Four and we’ll briefly celebrate that, but it’s time to get back to work. We’ve got a tough opponent ahead with chance to play in the championship game. So that’s the focus.”
When her career eventually ends, Pollard already has the next challenge in mind. And based on her demeanor on the court, obstacles won’t stand in her way of getting where she wants to go.
Soon she’ll be off to graduate school, feeling fully prepared to play the much bigger game of life and responsible adulthood.
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“I always try to keep a positive attitude,” MaKenzie said. “If I’m missing shots, there are things I can do to help my team in other ways. Ten years from now, I see myself owning my own sports and athletic training business. But that’s for later. Right now, we’ve got another game to play. And I’m so excited about that.”
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