The sense of urgency East Aurora’s Mia Moore felt in the fall was real.
That the pressure to finalize future plans may have forced her decision.
Eventually, the senior guard came to the conclusion she let it get the best of her in September when she announced a verbal commitment to Joliet St. Francis.
As a result, Moore ended up going full circle last week, announcing on Twitter that she was decommitting from the NAIA powerhouse and reopening her college recruitment.
“I just felt like I committed too soon,” Moore said. “I didn’t let my senior season play out the way I felt like it should.”
It continues to play out well for Moore and the Tomcats.
East Aurora received double-figure scoring from three players Friday night in a 55-31 Upstate Eight victory at West Chicago, the team’s 10th straight conference win without a loss.
Moore led the way for the Tomcats (16-5) with 17 points, well below her 26-point average, but she sat out most of the second quarter with foul trouble. She balanced the effort with her usual, strong, all-around game.
Sophomore guard Jasmyn Trigueros matched Moore’s 17 points for West Chicago (15-8, 5-5), which is headed by former Aurora Central Catholic coach Mark Fitzgerald.
Moore finished with seven rebounds and four steals. She had four of her five assists in the third quarter when she returned to the court.
“She can really facilitate,” East Aurora coach Lee Clayborn said. “She sees the floor real well. She not only leads us in scoring, but she’s a driving force.”
That type of play all season has led to continued contact from college coaches.
“She’s getting a lot of calls, a lot of looks,” Clayborn said. “She just wanted to explore the best possible fit for her.
“Division II and a lot more small Division I schools have called, and she even got a call from an ACC school. She’s just trying to work it all out and get her best situation.”
With no new offers yet in hand, it’s a gamble, but one Moore thinks is worth it.
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She’s one of only three seniors on Clayborn’s roster and the only one who starts, joined by juniors Anastasia Bellamy and Kanylah Young, sophomore Yaritza Servin and freshman Melanie Mercado.
“As the point guard, I’m supposed to be on the floor at all times,” Moore said. “I’m supposed to run the team.”
While she sat Friday, her teammates extended a 15-9 lead in the first quarter to 29-18 at halftime.
“Teams are going to look for Mia and try to get her in foul trouble in every kind of way,” Clayborn said. “It was a little physical game, but that’s just part of basketball. I told her to play through it.
“I was excited with our second unit when she picked up that third foul. They picked it up and we went up by 12-13 at one point without her on the floor. The experience and maturity of us playing in our 21st game is a factor.”
It’s one of the differences in this winter after last season’s team finished with a .500 record in conference.
The 6-2 Bellamy contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds against West Chicago. Servin had 12 points, while Young and Mercado added six each.
“Everybody on the team is capable of scoring this year,” Moore said. “Even Mercado. I tell her to shoot all the time, they’re going to fall eventually, and we have Anastasia to rebound. (Mercado) has a nice shot.”
Clayborn believes the Tomcats last won conference and postseason titles in 1988-89.
“We’d love to do both,” Moore said. “But one thing at a time.”