By Michael Wojtychiw

Marshall’s girls basketball program has been one of the, if not the, most successful programs in Chicago Public League history.

With the guidance of legendary coach Dorothy Gaters, the Commandos won 25 city titles, 10 state titles and numerous other state trophies. But the program has struggled over the past couple of seasons. After finishing second in the state in 2020, Marshall didn’t field a team in both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons due to the pandemic and other circumstances but came back last season with only five players, all freshmen.

But when they did come back, they had a familiar face on the sidelines: longtime assistant and sophomore coach Fred Eaton.

A year after winning 13 games, Eaton’s team was back in the spotlight, playing for a city championship in the Chicago Public league’s Green Division at UIC’s Credit Union 1 Arena on Monday.

The Commandos added championship number 26 after taking down West Side rival Austin 74-26.

“Hard work, hard work. And discipline,” the Marshall coach said about what it took to get the program back to this stage. “This starts from Dorothy Gaters and it’s just instilled in all these kids.

“We had to get kids to buy into our system, let them know about the winning.”

“I was actually a big fan of Dorothy Gaters,” Marshall’s Janiyah Green said. “I would watch all her videos.

“It’s wonderful to be a part of this, it actually made me want to cry because we did it.”

It was Marshall’s second win over Austin in a matter of a couple weeks and also only Austin’s second loss on the year, both at the hands of Marshall.

Marshall (19-8) got the job done thanks to its defense. Not only did the team get out to a 24-5 lead after the first quarter, it didn’t allow the Tigers to score in double digits in any of the four quarters, including giving up only three points in the fourth period.

The team forced 29 turnovers, including 16 steals, led by Ja’Una Williams’ six. The sophomore would finish with 16 points, only behind her classmate Green, who scored a game-high 30 points.

“I knew I had to kick it off, get off to a quick start,” Green said. “They were really spaced out, so I took what I had.”

“We’re headed in the right direction,” the coach said. “They’re young and still have a lot to learn. But there’s a lot of positives.”

Photos by Brandon Parker/OSA