Hard work pays off for Sophomore walk-on
Michael Martinez
Issue date: 12/9/09 Section: Sports
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This one was different, though. It was Stoner's first basket in her first game as a Titan.
It came with 6:23 left to play in a blowout loss Saturday to Eastern Michigan University. Stoner cut to the basket during an inbounds play and received the ball directly below the rim.
Her two points didn't affect the score; the Eagles had already built a comfortable 20-point lead, but you couldn't tell by the reaction of the Titans' bench. They stood and cheered like she had just given Detroit the lead.
"It felt really good to know that they were supporting me," she said.
Stoner, and the bench, had every right to be happy. Her first game action - she ended up playing ten minutes - didn't come easily.
Until that game, Stoner had not seen a minute of playing time. Her name doesn't even appear in the media guides, and she isn't in the team photo; she walked on after they had already been printed.
You won't see her complain, though.
"Usually as a walk-on it's expected that you go in as a practice player; you have to earn your time," she said. "When I got this opportunity I was thinking, 'Don't get ahead of yourself. Expect zero minutes and play like you're not going to get any time.' "
In her years at Hart High, Stoner earned a reputation as a shooter. She ended her career with an 86 percent success rate from the free-throw line, and helped lead the Indians to the final four of the CIF Southern Section Division I-A playoffs.
After graduating, she attended Bowling Green State University in Ohio for two years, choosing the school because her father had played club basketball and baseball there and she still had family living in the area.
She began majoring in architecture and attempted to join the Falcons basketball team, but was turned down. She persisted and stayed with the team on her own in the hopes she would have a chance to play the next year.
That chance never came, so Stoner began looking elsewhere.
Stoner talked to UDM head coach Autumn Rademacher, and decided on Detroit. She switched majors to biology, and after impressing coaches in fall workouts received a spot on the roster before the season began.
Stoner was thrilled.
"It was great," she said. "It felt really good just to be part of a program, part of a team again. … Being around basketball for so long and playing for so many years, it just doesn't go away. It was a little difficult at first, but I think I'm adjusting pretty well."
Her teammates have been very accepting, but one in particular - Brigid Mulroy - has been the most helpful.
A senior from West Bloomfield, Mich., Mulroy was recently named Horizon League Player of the Week. She leads the team in scoring and has started nearly every game for the Titans the past two years. And like Stoner, she was a walk-on.
"She's someone who I've gone to from day one," Stoner said. "She's a leader. She wants to help others, and after finding out about her story, it makes her more approachable so that I can go to her when I'm feeling down. She explains that there is a bright side and that if I work hard, I can get through it."
Mulroy said that her first few years were tough: She rarely played.
"It's not an easy route by any means, especially knowing you can contribute and not being given the opportunity right away," she said.
She praised Stoner, saying in time she would get her chance.
"She's in here working hard every day," said Mulroy. "She's making us better in practice and that's all you can ask."
It was fitting then that Mulroy was the one who inbounded the ball to Stoner on Saturday, assisting her on her first two college points.
"It's a little ironic that it was Brigid," Stoner said. "Her and I are very similar in the way we play, and we both read the inbounds play well."
Stoner said she is excited that the calendar has turned to December. She's happy for the college basketball season, but is excited for another season as well.
"I'm excited about winter," said the California native. "It actually started snowing last night and I got really excited. I haven't had a real winter in so long, so even if it's cold I'm going to adjust well."
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