Cardinals' Andriana Moore learns about life to succeed in basketball

EAST CHICAGO | Andriana Moore woke up at 5 a.m. during the basketball offseason to start her conditioning.

A powerful 6-foot-1 inside post, Moore wanted to lose 50 pounds and finally be able to keep up running up and down the court with her E.C. Central teammates.

She'd spend nearly an hour and a half on cardio and weight training, watching her speed improve as 35 pounds shed right off.

This year was going to be different, she told herself.

Two days before the official first practice to tip off the IHSAA girls basketball season, Moore woke up and noticed something was wrong with her mother, who didn't sound like herself and couldn't hold anything in her hand.

Tears streaming down her face, the middle of three daughters of Latusha Herring picked up the phone to call her grandmother.

Herring was rushed to Community Hospital, where it was determined she'd had a stroke. Moore missed the first day of the girls basketball season she'd worked so hard to get to.

Moore came back the second day as her mother's condition seemed to improve. Then, after a week at Community, Herring was rushed to Northwestern as she suddenly took a turn for the worse. Moore was told that ammonia had settled on her mother's brain, and on Nov. 1, Herring was declared brain dead, leaving behind three daughters.

Moore's intent for the season changed. It wasn't as much about getting up and down the floor or how many rebounds she grabbed in a game. Moore wanted to dedicate her season to her mother. That was her new motivation.

Herring's wake was Nov. 9, eight days after her death, and the same day as the first game on E.C. Central's schedule. Moore went to school that morning, stayed until the wake began, then arrived at the gym in time for the bus to leave for Hobart.

Moore scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds before fouling out of the Cardinals' 65-62 victory, their first win over Hobart since 2003.

"Before the game, I was crying, but I knew she would want me to play," Moore said. "Even though she's not here physically, I know she's always going to be with me and my sisters. I talk to her, even though she can't respond to what we're saying. I talk to her. I know she's listening."

She went on to record eight double-doubles during the regular season, marking the best of her career. She scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds against West Side, E.C. Central's semifinal opponent in today's 6 p.m. game at the Munster Sectional.

On Jan. 3, her 19th birthday, Moore scored her 1,000th point for the Cardinals, the first E.C. Central player to do so since McDonald's All-American Dee Dee Jernigan graduated in 2006.

"She's been blessed this season, no question, with a lot of good fortune, but she worked for all of it," E.C. coach Eric Kundich said. "I think the most important factor in Andrianna's success this season actually started in the offseason. She made the a commitment to become more of a leader on our team, and Andrianna's not the best leader with her voice; she's a better leader by example."

Moore has aspirations to follow her older sister and earn a college scholarship. TeeUntra Moore is a freshman at Wabash College in Illinois. Andriana is on the radar of UIC, IPFW and Indiana State. She's hoping to find a school where she can pursue her dream of becoming an ultrasound technician.

"I was trying to think what got her through this the most, and she just has a real strong will," Kundich said. "That's even been tough for our staff to deal with. She always thinks she's right about everything, and she makes a big deal about the small things.

"I try to think, was it her teammates, and I think her teammates have helped, but I think she just personally is a real strong person. She likes to do things for herself. Her mom was the same way, and so I think that's really been what got her through it the most."

At Senior Night, Kundich wrote out a few words about all of his players, talking about what they meant to the program. Moore has been on the varsity all four years that Kundich has been the head coach, and it took a little longer to find the right thing to say.

"Dealing with the loss of her mother has taught her more about life," Kundich said. "She came to practice after that, and the criticism that we gave to her at practice, she took it on the fly and made adjustments rather than make a big deal out of it. Through learning about life gave her the ability to learn the game of basketball a little bit better."

"I feel like I have gotten stronger. I'm a lot more determined," Moore said. "I'm determined to play harder and get more wins for this team. We've had more wins this year than any other year I've been here. When I go out there, I'm playing for my mom. She would want me to do this for my team."