NASHUA – Paul Williams got the phone call in late September and he knew that his biggest challenge as a coach loomed.
The Rivier University women’s basketball coach had always preached that his team is a family. And that was put to the test earlier in the school year when tragedy struck a family members, junior point guard Ryan Baker.
Baker’s older brother Ken was killed, struck by a truck while crossing a midtown Manhattan street, and Williams saw his other players rally around Baker in impressive fashion.
“I don’t think there’s a right way or a wrong way, and you never want to have to deal with anything like that,” Williams said. “This team formulated from what we thought was going to be a very good team into a very tight family very quickly.
“I think we went from having a team that was very close last year to one that realized not to ever get upset at each other for small things.
“Some of the girls immediately stopped what they were doing and went out to be with her and her family.”
“The minute we found out, we came to the gym,” Riv’s leading scorer, Hudson’s Deanna Purcell, said. “Even the freshmen came.![]()
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