Like she never left

It was Feb. 17, 2023. The Ruston Lady Bearcats were one day removed from their playoff loss to Chalmette.

After holding on through a season filled with adversity, injury, and fatigue, Ruston made the playoff field as one of the last three teams in but couldn’t manage to pull off the first round upset.

No one would blame them.

Head coach Meredith Graf was proud of her group for sticking together and doing all they could, given the injured state of the roster. Three impactful contributors, Kiersynce McNeal, A’Nyia Moore, and Zaccheya Jackson, were all out for the season with torn ACLs before district play even finished.

With the sting of the season’s end still fresh on Graf’s mind, she channeled the hurt into hope. And maybe more than that. She believed her group, specifically her injured guards, were going to come back in 2024 with a purpose.

“I can tell you my three ACL kids are very hungry. They’re going to come back with vengeance,” Graf said that February day in 2023.

Jackson is proving Graf, and herself, right.

The senior guard is a force to be reckoned with on a nightly basis for the Lady Bearcats (19-7, 3-0) and is serving as the glue that holds the team together — according to Graf.

Jackson ranks second on the team in scoring (11.7 points per game), second in rebounds per game (5.1), and first in free throw attempts (4.5) and percentage (66%).

Last year, her season was finished by Dec. 12. Now, she’s played in all 26 games and averaged over 13 points across three district wins.

“I would call Zaccheya the silent assassin,” Graf said. “She’s very consistent and steady. And in any sport, people you can bring that continuity and that steadiness to any practice or game, it’s really important and it helps the people around you feel more secure and confident. When you have somebody who you know what they’re going to bring to the table every day and it makes it easier for other people who don’t have as much experience to relax a little bit more. That’s what she’s like for us.”

Jackson has reached double figures in 17 of her 26 games played this season while sharing the load of ballhandling duties with fellow senior guard Jaliyah McWain, who was asked to be pretty much everything for the team last season given the injuries.

With Jackson back in the fold, giving the Lady Bearcats another reliable weapon to get to the line or set up an offensive possession, Graf said Ruston is positioning itself to have a chance to reach postseason goals.

“Anytime in high school girls basketball you can have two girls who can run the point and handle the ball, you’re usually pretty good,” Graf said. “ It doesn’t sound like much but if you have two, most if not all the good teams across the state have two girls that can handle the ball, and that doesn’t mean score it, but handle the ball and not turn it over, they usually separate themselves. It’s a blessing.”

But returning to this form didn’t happen overnight for Jackson. Months of tiring rehab, continual icing, and working through understandable mental hurdles are easier said than done. And when you play as fast and aggressive on defense as Jackson does, the thought of never being able to get back to that level was a scary one.

Jackson wasn’t going to let a setback keep her from going out how she wanted in her final high school season.

“Coming back from the injury, I was really nervous, and I thought I was going to be in my head a lot and I came out leading the team in steals and I was in my head because that’s how I got injured in the first place was going for a steal,” Jackson said. “But I’m not in my head and I’m just trying to play hard and be there for my team.”

From a steal attempt sidelining her for months, Jackson now leads Ruston in steals per game (3.2).

“I feel like I was a little more aggressive before because I wasn’t thinking about it but now, I’m almost there to completely being what I’m used to being. But I’m getting there.”

Graf may not have torn her ACL like Jackson, but she can relate to her from working through a mental block of injury prevention and recovery.

In her playing days, Graf suffered a shoulder injury that at first made her think twice of taking a drive to the rim and taking contact or diving on the floor for a loose ball. It’s a real fear that athletes, especially younger ones, that they can’t enjoy and play the game like they did before.

But Graf said Jackson spent the necessary time with family, teammates, coaches and herself to work past selfdoubt and play like only she knows how.

“You just have to get reps and you have to try to play without thinking,” Graf said. “I think Zaccheya’s done a really job of that and I think there’s been bumps in the road but in time you get over it and you’ve proven to come back.”

Jackson’s lack of fear has shown over the last month, with her averaging 2.3 offensive rebounds and four freethrow attempts over the last seven games. She’s also not missed a free throw in district play.

“People don’t think about it like that unless you’ve been through it,” Graf said. “Personally, I can relate to them in every way. I went through the same thing, but with my shoulder. And there’s no taking the place of going for that steal and nothing bad happening or going up in transition and taking contact and landing and nothing bad happening. You have to go through it and look at yourself be like, ‘OK, I’m OK.’ She had to do the same thing. It’s always something in the back of your mind but you try to just play.”

Jackson will continue to be integral in what the Lady Bearcats can accomplish, getting stronger physically and mentally with each game. And all she wants to do is to help Ruston go out on a stronger note this time.

“Last year was me just trying to support the team and being there for them since I couldn’t play,” Jackson said. “It’s really exciting to be out there with them and help the team keep our rank up.”

Jackson and the Lady Bearcats (19-7, 3-0) will be back in action Friday for a key district battle at home against Alexandria (14-13, 2-1) at 5:30 p.m.