Skylar Waller said it was an “honor to put on a Marshall jersey.” (Tonia Witt/Rise Up Sports Photo)
It was a difficult game for Marshall County senior guard Skylar Waller Thursday night.
She had eight points in the 45-30 state tournament loss to Henderson County but was only 2-for-9 from the field. She had four rebounds and two assists but also committed seven turnovers against Henderson’s relentless full-court pressure.
Waller came into the game as Marshall’s leading scorer and primary ball handler but never got into a great flow during the game.
When coach Aaron Beth took her out late in the game, she stopped not only to hug her coach but also shed a lot of tears on his shoulder before doing the same with teammates.
“It’s pretty special,” Waller said about her relationship with Beth. “I’m not playing for him just in basketball, but also in golf. It’s just an honor to put on a Marshall jersey.
“I’m just so thankful for this program and for coach Beth and just to be able to put on this jersey every single day. It’s just an amazing experience, and I’m gonna miss playing for Marshall.”
Aaron Beth got Marshall, state champion in 1982 and 1984, to the state title game in 2021 before stepping away from coaching. Now he’s back and was proud his team, which was not among the preseason favorites to win the region but finished the season 25-7. He said the season was full of “good memories” for him.
“This team was up and down early. I told them after the game, this is something they’re going to remember for the rest of their lives. There’s going to be a banner in the gym. It’s the 25th banner in 25 years. It’s our 25th regional title in 25 years. And this team gets to say they were part of that,” the Marshall coach said. “That’s something special for our community, our rich tradition.
“Obviously, my dad was there forever (as a coach). I’ve been part of this since I was 8 or 9 years old. I’ve been to some other places, and I enjoyed my time there, but at the same time, this is home. I’ve gotten out of coaching twice, and I’m back again, so I don’t I may quit again and come back. I don’t know how that’s going to work, but now I’m planning on coaching for a while.
“I love this team. I love these girls. They really bought in the last six weeks of the season, and I think we won 14 of our last 15 games, and we kind of blew the one we lost at Graves County.
“We’re not the most athletic, we’re not the fastest, we’re not the biggest, but we had the most heart and the most determination and the most buy-in and played as well together as a team, as any team I’ve ever had. We’re going to look back and have wonderful memories.”
Because it had 20 turnovers, Marshall got only 32 shots against Henderson and missed 21 of them. However, Beth knows eventually his players will remember more than the season-ending loss.
“This is sad right now, and it’s tough right now, but in two or three days we’re going to get that high back that we had after winning the regional tournament. How much fun we’ve had this week leading up to today,” the Marshall coach said. “We knew it was going to be tough.
“We knew we’re going to have to handle pressure. We handled it well in practice, but you can’t simulate what happens out here on the court, so it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Only one team is going to win. Last time I was up here, we got to win three before we got beat and that one, it hurts the same. It doesn’t matter when or where the season ends, only one team is going to be happy. Rhat doesn’t take away anything from the rest of the season.”
One Response
As a Henderson, co alumni Congratulations on a great season.