Feb. 17, 2016 By W.G. Ramirez
Special to UNLVRebels.com
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV's Paris Strawther generally has the loudest cheering section in the Cox Pavilion. After all, she was born in Las Vegas, starred at Liberty High School and has plenty of friends and family at every home game.
When she enters the game, scores a point or grabs a rebound, her fans cheer plenty loud.
But there's only one voice that remains crystal clear in her mind, heart and soul, despite being silent to everyone else in the arena.
Paris' mother Lourdes - affectionately known to everyone as Cookie - died Aug. 24, 2011. After a courageous battle with breast cancer, Cookie was called home just five days before Paris' first day of high school.
So when the Lady Rebels take the court Wednesday against Air Force for their annual Play4Kay night, Strawther and her teammates will don pink uniforms while the 6-foot-2 freshman will be playing with a heavy heart.
"It means something because it touches all of us each and every day; to have people come in and support not only Paris, but our entire program is really special," said Tina Kunzer-Murphy, UNLV's director of athletics. "I'm sure it will be a really special night, but how great is that for Paris to be surrounded by her friends and her family, to be able to play in that environment."
Which is nothing new to Strawther, who quit basketball for eight months after her mother died, but returned to the court and finished her last three seasons at Liberty as an all-state selection, always playing in front of the same fan base she now entertains as a Lady Rebel.
Wednesday will mark the first time she'll play college ball in a game honoring breast cancer.
"This is our pink game, and it's bigger than basketball - it's the fight against breast cancer," UNLV coach Kathy Olivier said. "It's awareness to make sure you get in and get diagnosed early. It's touched all our lives and it's just a bigger game than the UNLV Lady Rebels. It's special for so many reasons.
"For us, with Paris Strawther, it's an amazing story. It's a horrible story, but it's amazing in the fact that from what I've heard, Paris is just like her mom. I've heard so many positive things about Cookie and I think about Paris and she's just a special young lady."
Cookie Strawther was an amazing woman who raised three children with her husband Lee. She helped run the Las Vegas Sentinel-Voice, the state's only Black newspaper, which was founded by Lee Strawther's parents, and more than anything was devoted to her family. She was Paris' No. 1 fan, and never missed a chance to see her daughter shine while she played AAU basketball for former Runnin' Rebel Wes Reed.
But it was Paris Strawther's devotion toward basketball that left her feeling as if she was being selfish, and that she should have spent more time with her mother before she passed.
"There was a lot of guilt Paris carried around, after we lost Cook," Lee Strawther said. "While her health was deteriorating, we were so busy trying to keep her environment and the atmosphere as normal as possible. But when Cookie was called home, Paris was devastated, and angry with herself. While she didn't necessarily blame basketball, she blamed her time spent playing ball, as she felt it was the cause of her not having quality time with her mom."
Thus, Strawther traded her high-tops for flip flops, taking a hiatus from the one sport that seemed to bond her entire family - mainly around her games and tournaments.
"I was at a loss for words; my mom was gone, and all I wanted to do was be there for (her brother) Julian, (her sister) Paige and my dad. My first thought was to make sure they were okay," said Strawther, who received more than 300 college letters but chose to stay home to play at UNLV. "Now, sometimes if I'm down, I'll talk to her. But if I'm good, then I just think about her, I keep her with me."
Olivier said she doesn't think of Strawther as a freshman any longer, mainly because of her maturity on and off the court, but also because of her basketball knowledge. Olivier said she Strawther is one of the smartest freshmen she's ever coached.
"She's super intelligent, she gets good grades, she's driven academically, she's driven on the basketball court and for her to continue to play, I think it's great because I know her mom is watching," Olivier said. "Her mom is so proud of her daughter because she's an amazing young lady."
Strawther, a key reserve in the frontcourt, generally steps in for senior Aley Rohde, who has been equally impressed with her mentee's progress during the season.
"Being a freshman is always difficult, and I think she's taken it very well," Rohde said. "We've always talked about how she's not one of those freshmen who try to do too much. She carries her role very well and I think she has improved tremendously. She's gotten more aggressive. She's been a great asset."
Said Lee Strawther: "How she's done it, I'll never know. The one thing that impressed me the most is that she has done things her way, and she was always right to take control of the situation and handle it the way she did, because look at where we are. She didn't give in and we let her do it and she was right. She was doing what was right for her and she didn't let anyone persuade her otherwise."
Another Lady Rebel who will feel Cookie Strawther's presence Wednesday night is longtime family friend Jazmin O'Bannon. Though she is redshirting this season, O'Bannon is every bit a part of the Lady Rebels, cheering them on during games and going hard at every practice.
O'Bannon and Strawther have been playing against and with one another since they were in elementary school.
"This game is very important to me," said O'Bannon, fighting back tears. "Paris is so very strong, she's the strongest person I know. She goes all out, there is not a play that goes by that she takes off, she works very hard. Every time she steps on the court she plays like it's her last time because she's been through a lot both emotionally and physically.
"I know her mom is proud of her."
And for Strawther, that's what has always been important, with a feeling that her mother is always watching over her. And while the Lady Rebels never met her - outside of O'Bannon - Cookie Strawther's radiant smile and intoxicating personality lives through her daughter. Her mother's spirit is what give Strawther inspiration on game day.
"It's kind of overwhelming at times, but I just take it all in and am happy for the opportunities I've been given," Strawther said. "When I do speak to my mom, in my quiet time pregame, I just ask her to help me play my best and stay with me out there on the court. That's something that has always been there, and it always stays there.
"It's just a little fire under me. When I get down, I think about that and it's going to get me back up again."
