She had to give up basketball in high school. It took her down a path she wouldn't trade

There was a time growing up when Mariah Sholly had a hard time imagining an existence that didn’t include basketball. But we don’t always get to pick our paths, sometimes our paths pick us.

The life that Sholly is currently leading isn’t exactly what she planned, and it’s not easy, but she wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Seven years ago, Sholly was an emerging sophomore guard for the storied Lebanon Catholic girls’ basketball program when she became pregnant, with her first child, Jordan.

“I don’t regret my babies,” Sholly said. “But I look back, and I think about what it would’ve been like if I hadn’t gotten pregnant. I was so young, and it was a hard pill to swallow. I would’ve been a 1,000-point scorer. I think about what school (college) I would’ve been going to.

“I try to believe that things happen for a reason,” added Sholly. “Then I see all my babies, and they’re happy and healthy, and it makes up for it.”

During her junior season, Sholly could only watch from the bench as the Beavers went on to win their third and final state championship in March 2017. Since then, Sholly has given birth to three more children, Jalen, 4, Kalylah, 1, and newborn Kaylahny.

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“I was definitely super proud of them (her teammates),” said Sholly, a 23-year-old resident of Lebanon. “But it was hurtful because I wasn’t playing. I played with them growing up, so when I couldn’t, it was upsetting.

“It’s been so long ago. I just remember they had to step up and play hard. Neesha (Pierre) had to step up. She kind of took my role.”

“That was a special group of girls who came together at the right time,” said former Lebanon Catholic head coach Patti Hower. “Without Mariah, Neesha Pierre had to play point, which wasn’t her natural position. Mariah was a very good point guard. She was a great distributor of the basketball, who knew when to pass it and when to shoot it. She was always very supportive of the entire team, and her teammates were supportive of her.”

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For a time, after leaving Lebanon Catholic and giving birth to Jordan, Sholly attended Cedar Crest High School, and was a part of the Falcons’ girls’ basketball program, competing in a summer league and attending summer camp with them. But she graduated from Lebanon High School in 2018, on time.

“The game was my life,” said Sholly. “With basketball, you’re always in difficult positions and you have to make difficult decisions. Now, I always have to do what’s best for me and my kids. It helped me learn to multi-task. Now, I’m like the best multi-tasker there is.”

Now, Sholly works at Bayer Corporation in Myerstown, as an associate technician, third shift. She owns her own home, and her older children are just starting school.

“It’s definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I wouldn’t change it for anything,” Sholly said. “I bought my house at 21, and I have a great job. I don’t have nothing to be embarrassed about. I’m just proud. Just because you didn’t go down a certain path, doesn’t mean you’re a failure. It doesn’t mean you didn’t succeed in life.”

“Mariah’s a good person,” Hower said. “Sometimes good people make mistakes. I’m proud of how she handled the whole situation in a positive way. She’s a fantastic mother. It changed her life, but it didn’t ruin her life. I’m so happy that it worked out in a positive way.”

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Former Lebanon Catholic girls' basketball player proud of success