Column: Nerves aside, Mother McAuley alum Bella Finnegan aces first start at Indiana State. ‘She earned it.’

Former Mother McAuley basketball standout Bella Finnegan had a wonderful Christmastime.

When she told me about it the other day, I could still hear the holiday cheer.

The joy began Dec. 21, when she made her first start as a freshman at Indiana State.

“I didn’t know I was going to start until we were going over matchups before the game,” Finnegan said. “When I found out, I was like, ‘Wow, not a lot of freshmen get to do this.’

“I was a little nervous. My hands were sweating a little.”

Finnegan did just fine, playing 19 minutes, scoring five points and grabbing three rebounds as the Sycamores made fast work of Detroit Mercy for a 72-47 win.

A couple of days later, Finnegan was back home in Chicago. She spent a fun afternoon shooting around at McAuley with former teammate Jenna Badali and current Mighty Macs Grace Gambotz and Quinn Arundel.

“We got some shots up,” Finnegan said. “I talk to Jenna all the time. She definitely taught me the way of varsity basketball. It’s just a great relationship to have with her. I really look up to her, and it’s great to see what she’s doing at Lewis.

“I still talk to coach (Keisha) Newell and (former McAuley teammate) Lauren Ramsey at Lewis and some of the girls at McAuley. It’s nice still having that connection.”

A wonderful Christmastime, to be sure.

Finnegan is making her freshman season at Indiana State merry as well.

The 6-foot guard has started in nine games, averaging 6.1 points. Third on the team with 16 3-pointers, she has a team-leading 10 blocked shots.

She has scored in double digits four times, putting up 14 in a Dec. 29 game against Missouri State.

Finnegan is pretty good at making an instant impact.

As a freshman, she was a significant contributor on the first McAuley team to make it to state since 1996-97. She averaged 5.3 points but scored eight in a 58-46 loss to Maine West in the Class 4A championship game.

As a senior, she averaged 18.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists and was the GCAC Red’s player of the year. She was a no-doubter when I was choosing the all-area first team.

“Bella was a workhorse who truly wanted to get better,” Newell said. “She put tons of extra time in outside of practices and games. She was just a sponge who took in everything the coaches would tell her.

“She was a lot of fun to coach. I was confident she would contribute right away at Indiana State.”

So was Sycamores coach Chad Killinger. He played her 20 minutes in her first game. Her first start came in her 10th game.

“She earned it,” Killinger said of Finnegan. “She’s one that works hard and puts in extra time. She was very deserving of that opportunity.

“When we recruited her, we felt she was the type of player who would come in and have an opportunity to make an impact right away. The college game is a little bigger and faster and that adjustment has been her biggest challenge, but each game she gets a little bit better.”

Finnegan pointed out that she uses a planner to keep her basketball and nursing class schedules straight. Her head? That’s on straight in the best way.

“Being a college freshman, it’s an up-and-down roller coaster of learning,” Finnegan said. “I know I’m going to have my highs and I know there are going to be some lows.

“I’m just concentrating on keeping my confidence I’ve had from senior year at McAuley. I can’t let a lot of mistakes and adversity affect me. I’m just enjoying the process.”