'Fearless' Marley Szymoniak having breakthrough season with Onaway girls basketball

ONAWAY – You don’t have to tell Marley Szymoniak to go work on her game.

She already knows what to do.

As a sophomore for the Onaway girls basketball team, Szymoniak hasn’t even waited until practice to put up shots on the court. Before or even during school, she’ll find time to get reps in.

“I take about 25 to 50 (shots), just until I feel good,” Szymoniak said. “I just go at my own pace and see what I can do.”

Because of her hunger to improve each day, Szymoniak, playing as a guard for the Cardinals, has delivered a breakout campaign for an Onaway program that continues to grow.

“It’s been about putting in the work,” Szymoniak said. “I really hoped to just come out and have a big year and just help my team out a lot, and I just thought this year was my year and really wanted to come out big. We have a goal this year and that is to win districts, so I want to come out and help my team do that.”

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What Szymoniak has brought to the table is a combination of basketball qualities, which include scoring, ferocious defense and crisp passing to her teammates. Her progression as a player has the Cardinals on the verge of a winning season and a chance of capturing a first district title since 2006.

“I love defense, that’s definitely my thing,” Szymoniak said. “I love being fast and being quick and all over the ball. I feel like I played more timid my freshman year, I was just way more nervous. I didn’t know what to expect.”

While Szymoniak’s campaign has been impressive, it hasn’t come without some adversity. Earlier this winter, she was limited because of an ankle injury. Now that she’s healthy, she’s recorded standout performances, including a career-high 21 points in a recent victory at Central Lake. Facing Ski Valley Conference leader Gaylord St. Mary, Szymoniak’s defense and aggressiveness on offense allowed the Cardinals to put a scare into the Snowbirds in the second half.

Not bad for one of the smallest players on the court each night.

“Marley, the last month or so, since she’s got back healthy, has really been the best player on the court for us,” Onaway coach John George said. “She’s fearless. It shows the way she plays. She attacks the hoop even though she’s only a foot shorter than most kids out there. For the most part, she finishes really well at the hoop, too, but her biggest positive is the way she plays defense and tempo.

“She’s a total nuisance out there, super proud of her.”

What has also benefited Szymoniak is having a father who’s just as dedicated to the sport as she is. That would Onaway boys coach Eddy Szymoniak, who’s instilled a fearless and confident mentality into his daughter.

“Coming to the game, you just have to have the right mindset, and he just drives that into me," Szymoniak said of her dad. "Especially with me being in high school now, we can definitely relate more, and him coaching the boys, I just really look up to that, too, seeing how he does it and coming home and talking to him about it, I just look up to him.”

No matter how this season ends, Szymoniak isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Szymoniak, along with current teammates Kailyn George, Charlotte Box and Ema DeMaestri, will all be back to form what should be another strong Onaway team in 2024-25.

As for George, he’s more than thrilled he’ll have Szymoniak around for a couple more years.

“It’s a benefit that we’ll have her back,” George said. “We’ve got some players around her right now, it’s got to happen this coming year and next year, so hopefully we can get something done and hang a banner while she’s here.”

Onaway hosts rival Inland Lakes in Ski Valley action on Friday night.

Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Marley Szymoniak amid breakthrough season with Onaway girls basketball