OIL CITY, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Hailey Kriebel opened up her bag and looked inside.

Her heart sank.

Fear gripped her. Then panic.

(Above, Hailey Kriebel against Karns City/photo by Shelly Atzeni)

The senior guard on the Union girls basketball team had forgotten her shoes for a road game at Venango Catholic on Monday night.

“It was horrible,” Kriebel said. “I didn’t know what to do.”

With no junior varsity game before the varsity clash between the Damsels and the Vikings, there wasn’t enough time for someone to make the trek back to Rimersburg to retrieve them.

Kriebel was facing the prospect of not being able to play.

She peaked her head out of the locker room and motioned for Union coach Ally Kepple to come over.

Kepple thought Kriebel had forgotten her warmup shirt.

“She does that all the time,” Kepple said, chuckling. “But, then she said she forgot her shoes. I was like, ‘No way!’”

(Venango Catholic senior Alyson Stewart)

But, little did they know Venango Catholic senior Alyson Stewart had overheard the conversation.

Stewart quickly came to the aid of the Damsel in distress.

“They were kind of outside the boys’ locker room, and I saw the Union coach take off one of her shoes and give it to Hailey,” Stewart said. “Then, I saw my coach (Skip Homan) go over there. I kind of figured she had forgotten her shoes. I went over and asked, ‘Do you need basketball shoes?’”

Kriebel said yes, and Stewart asked what size shoe Kriebel wore. When Stewart realized her second pair of basketball shoes would fit Kriebel, she fetched them.

“I always keep my basketball shoes from last year in the locker room at my school,” Stewart said. “I had an extra pair, so I might as well give them to her so she can play and not hurt herself trying to play in shoes that weren’t the right size.”

Stewart knew where Kriebel was coming from.

While Stewart has never forgotten her shoes for a game, she did leave another very important piece of equipment at home once.

“I forgot my jersey,” Stewart said, laughing. “That’s probably worse.”

Kriebel said she had never forgotten her shoes before Monday.

She also said she likely won’t ever do it again.

“I thought they were in my bag, but I must have taken them out and not realized they weren’t there,” Kriebel said. “I had on a pair of Hey Dudes (a brand of slip-on sneakers). I couldn’t play in those. I’m gonna be checking three or four times from now on. I’m just so thankful to her. I couldn’t thank her enough.”

Kepple said Stewart should be lauded for what she did.

“I know she did not do that for the recognition,” Kepple said. “But, that’s a great example of sportsmanship. It just goes to show you that some things are bigger than basketball. For her to step up like that and let Hailey use her other pair of shoes, I think that’s so cool.

“Because Alyson Stewart did what she did, Hailey was able to play and handle it so much better. If she wouldn’t have been able to play, she wouldn’t be able to laugh about it now.”