Stella Mayer was named after her grandmother, so it was almost as if they were destined to share a special bond through life. And when her grandmother passed away Thursday, Mayer knew the best way to honor the woman lovingly known as Yiayia – the Greek word for grandmother — would be to suit up and play that night.
“She was a huge part of my life,” the Dwight-Englewood senior said. “She would come to all my basketball games and it was kind of cool that we could share that together.
“It was tough, but I thought the right thing to do was to go and play the game for her and also for my teammates. It was hard, and in the end I’m glad I did it.”
The Record Female Athlete of the Week finished with 14 points, 10 assists, 10 steals, five rebounds and a block as the Bulldogs beat Lyndhurst, 63-18. To her knowledge, it was her first triple-double.
