A Division-I soccer commit. A shot-putter closing in on a 40-year-old record. A 16-time state swim qualifier.

Basketball wasn’t their primary sport in high school—but it’s the one that brought them together. And for senior standouts Rayna Powers, Marco Reynolds and Kenna Malinowski, it’s the one they weren’t ready to leave behind ahead of their senior season.

As three-fifths of the Ironmen’s 2024-25 starting lineup, the trio has helped push the Ironmen to a 27-7 record, and another deep postseason run, advancing to the IHSA 4A sectional semifinals for the fourth straight season, a finish that exceeded most preseason predictions.

Ahead of the season, the risk of injury was there.

So were the demands of a second varsity sport—the packed schedules, the balancing act of school, sport, club, training, work, a social life.

Then there was the weight of living up to the expectations of past teams—still the three suited up for the Orange and Black one last time.

Not for a shot at a sectional title. Not for another Holiday Classic or Intercity title.

They came back for the camaraderie, the competition, the roster.

Photo Courtesy of: Charles Green //@cgmojo

Before every game, the seniors huddle up in front of their bench, arms around each other, just like they’ve done since their first days taking the court.

It’s moments like these that Rayna Powers will miss as she prepares to move on from basketball, turning her attention to collegiate soccer.

A University of Kentucky soccer commit, Powers grew up juggling soccer, basketball and softball, always following the athletic path of her older brother, Ryan.

“At the beginning, I wanted to do it because he did,” Powers said. “But as I got older, I wanted to be better.”

And better she got—playing elite club soccer while securing a starting spot on the Iron’s varsity basketball roster.

Even with a relentless schedule that included three-hour drives to club soccer practice in St. Louis, she never considered stepping away from basketball.

The long days? Just part of the routine.

“There are days I’m just exhausted,” Powers said. “But I’ve been doing this for so long that I don’t really know anything different.”

Injury concerns weren’t enough to sway her either.

“You can get injured walking up the stairs at school,” Powers said. “I just wanted to play as long as I could.”

While soccer was the priority, basketball was never just an afterthought.

“I wanted to end on a high note,” Powers said, to “play as long as I could before I have to give it up” to focus on the soccer pitch.

What kept her coming back wasn’t just the competition. It was the bond with her teammates.

Unlike soccer, where practices divide players by position, basketball fosters a constant closeness.

“You’re always on the bench together, always practicing together,” Powers said. “That makes a difference.”

That connection, forged over years of playing club and scholastic basketball with her Iron teammates, made her senior season a no-brainer.

“I knew it’d be fun,” Powers said. “I’ve known these seniors for a long time.”

Practice, Powers said, was never a grind, but something she looked forward to every day.

Sure, the schedule was tough, the balancing act physically taxing, playing club soccer at an elite level while leading the Ironmen in minutes per game this season with 24.

But, Powers said, it was her teammates that “help[ed] me get through it.”

That closeness, the ability to rely on her teammates, to spend time with them, Powers said, was “just kind of nice to have,” and it isn’t offered in the same way by other sports.

Powers, Community’s girls basketball coach Mr. Dave Feeney said, could be a “nationally elite basketball player if she played more basketball.”

But the senior said that was never where her heart lied.

“A part of me knew soccer was the only sport I wanted to play,” Powers said.

“I’m told she’s an incredible softball player,” Feeney said. “I had an umpire tell me that she was the best softball player he’d ever seen.”

Despite the skill and talent at the sport, Powers stepped away from travel softball last summer.

But this season, she wasn’t quite ready to leave basketball behind.

And she wasn’t the only one who wasn’t ready to walk away.

Photo Courtesy of: Charles Green //@cgmojo

Like Powers, Marco Reynolds could have stepped away from basketball. She had already committed to Eastern Illinois University for track and field..

Her schedule, working at Popup Chicken Shop, lifting, training her throws, was demanding.

Feeney, Reynolds said, would have understood if she hung it up this season.

But basketball had been part of her life for too long to leave it behind.

But after years on the court, she wasn’t ready to walk away.

“I wanted to finish out with my teammates,” Reynolds said.

Many of those teammates Reynolds has played beside since her days at Evans Junior High. Her senior campaign offered the chance to play alongside them “one more time.”

“I won’t see them again after this,” Reynolds said.

Adding to the decision to return, Reynolds said, was “knowing that I won’t be playing [competitively] again.”

Basketball wasn’t always the plan for Reynolds. She originally tried out for volleyball in seventh grade but didn’t make the team.

“I was nervous because I never played before,” Reynolds said. “I didn’t make the volleyball team, so I thought I probably wouldn’t make basketball either.”

And while she made the Eagles roster, it was her first AAU season where she truly realized she had potential.

“That’s when I started to get good,” Reynolds said. “And I was like, ‘Oh, I could be good at this.’”

She played club basketball through her junior year before shifting focus to shot put and discus. But the pull of basketball was still strong enough to bring her back for one more season.

The transition between basketball and track wasn’t just about changing sports—it was about shifting mentality.

In track, Reynolds said, you’re really just competing against yourself, it’s a sport where “it’s every person for themselves.”

But “basketball is different”—it’s nice having teammates to “help you when you need it.”

Track, Reynolds said, is just her against the numbers.

The basketball team, Reynolds said, offers comfort through its numbers, the Iron have always been a tight-knit group.

But in basketball, she had people relying on her, “and I can rely on them,” Reynolds said.

“I feel like our whole team is very inclusive,” she said. “Being able to be with them all the time and including our new freshmen and sophomore group—I think our team chemistry has been really strong.”

It’s a type of chemistry unique to basketball.

Though Reynolds considered pursuing basketball in college—receiving offers from Carroll University, Lawrence College and Millikin—she ultimately chose track.

“I thought about it all summer,” Reynolds said. “I could have done both at Millikin, but at Eastern, I couldn’t. Basketball is just a lot on your body, and I didn’t think I could do both on top of school.”

Her decision was also practical.

“I could go play basketball at the gym anytime,” Reynolds said. “But you can’t just go somewhere and throw in a ring if you want to.”

But the gym, a pickup game, just wouldn’t compare with playing a final season with her longtime teammates. So, despite her commitment to track, Reynolds didn’t hesitate to take the court one last time.

Photo Courtesy of: Charles Green //@cgmojo

For Kenna Malinowski, the decision to walk away from competitive swimming wasn’t easy.

A four-time state qualifier, she had spent more than a decade in the pool, starting at just six years old. But by her senior year, the sport that once defined her had started to wear her down.

“I’ve done it for so long,” Malinowski said. “I just kind of felt burned out.”

No wonder. For her freshman year, she balanced two sports and club swim. Now, she has a job at Destihl Brewery and an academically demanding schedule—including AP Calculus and dual credit courses.

And little downtime.

But that burnout didn’t stop her from stepping on the basketball court when she returned from her final trip to the State swim competition.

Malinowski briefly tested the waters of swimming collegiately, having conversations with the University of Illinois, but she ultimately chose a different path.

“Swimming is really competitive, and I loved it, but doing it so often and at such a high level made me decide to step away,” Malinowski said.

“I want to focus on other things,” she said.

At the top of that list: school and a social life.

But that wasn’t before one more season with the Iron.

“Basketball has always been a part of my routine,” Malinowski said. “I love the team aspect of it.”

Unlike the solitary nature of swimming, basketball is built on teamwork, on shared moments of success and struggle.

“In basketball, you have your team with you, but in swimming, you’re racing by yourself,” Malinowski said.

In swimming, it’s just you and your thoughts. But basketball is different—you’re talking, you’re joking, you’re together.

That togetherness is what made Malinowski’s time with the Iron worth the work.

“Balancing school and sports was tough,” Malinowski said, “but practice was a break from the stress.”

As the final buzzer sounded on her senior season, Malinowski stepped off the court for the last time—not just as an athlete, but as someone who had given everything to both sports, finding camaraderie in one and closure in the other.

For Powers, Reynolds and Malinowski, the season wasn’t just about winning. It’s about the moments before tipoff, the huddles at center court, the plays that only teammates who’ve spent years together can pull off.

Basketball was never their future.

But for one more season, it was still home.

When the final buzzer sounded, they stepped away—each heading down their own path, their own sport, their own next chapter.

No matter their paths, one thing remains the same—the bond forged on the court, the shared sacrifices, the unspoken understanding that comes from playing side by side.

The season may be over, but the memories, the friendships and the lessons will carry far beyond the hardwood.