Bedridden for three days. A horrible cough for a couple of weeks.
You guessed it, Richards junior Julia Niemeyer had to deal with COVID-19 during the holidays. It wasn’t her merriest Christmas.
Returning to the court wasn’t easy, either.
“I’m getting back into it,” Niemeyer said. “But the last couple of games, I felt like I haven’t been doing my best.”
That wasn’t the case Tuesday night for the 5-foot-11 forward.
“This was my comeback game,” Niemeyer said with a smile.
Indeed, she was the standout player in the fourth quarter as Richards posted a 58-48 South Suburban Red victory over Reavis.
Niemeyer ended up with 18 points and four rebounds for Richards (5-9, 3-5). Iyanah Crosby added nine points, while Jada Cork contributed eight points and 10 rebounds.
Isabel Lopez scored 35 points for Reavis (8-12, 1-5). Lily Hernandez added six points, while Aubree Halloran grabbed eight rebounds.
Niemeyer’s heroics actually started late in the third quarter. It was her layup that put Richards in front for the first time, 34-32.
The Bulldogs led by just two points going into the fourth when Niemeyer produced three baskets and two free throws.
The brightest sight for Richards coach Jeff Kortz was seeing her finish strong.
“What we saw there were things that she can do,” Kortz said. “She started out the season like gangbusters for us. She was getting double digits per game and was gaining confidence.
“She fell off a little bit due to the COVID. She’s been battling back from that, trying to get her wind. She’s fighting through it.”
Niemeyer also had to fight through foul trouble. She scored six points in the first quarter but had to sit out a bunch of the second after getting her third foul.
“It frustrates me sitting on the bench and having to watch everything go down,” Niemeyer said. “I was super happy for my teammates, who pulled through in the quarter I wasn’t in. But it felt good to go back out.”
Niemeyer, who’s in her second varsity season, is averaging 8.7 points and 6.9 rebounds.
“Last season, she was up with us and did a great job coming off the bench,” Kortz said. “She showed us that she was multitalented.
“She can shoot the three. She can get underneath. She can guard guards. She does so many things. We’re just trying to pull it out of her as she continues to grow.”
The shot of the night for Richards, meanwhile, was a 4-point play by junior guard Mikayla Denson.
The transfer from Hillcrest hit it late in the second quarter, pulling the Bulldogs into a 24-24 tie.
“I don’t know what else to say other than I was trying to make the shot go in,” Denson said. “I didn’t want to rush it.
“I’ve had a 4-point play before, but not in a game like this one. I was glad to do it for my team.”
Reavis suffered a major setback midway through the second quarter when Lopez went to the bench with her third foul.
The sophomore guard was lights out for the Rams, scoring 16 of their 17 points in the first quarter. Without her, the Rams struggled on offense, seeing as much as an eight-point lead gradually disintegrate.
During the third quarter, Lopez executed an in-and-out pattern as Reavis coach Tim Zasada tried to avoid having her on defense.
“If I had to do it again, I’d have let her just keep going,” Zasada said. “But you don’t want to be in a three-minute game with her being fouled out.
“The third foul ruined her momentum and it ruined our rhythm offensively. We were in control of the game until then. But our other girls have got to step up. We missed a lot of layups and it caught up to us.”