Blocking out pain: Harding’s Hogue plays on after sister’s death

Harding sophomore forward Caroline Hogue (right) has accumulated a number of accolades in her first season with the Lady Bisons, including being named the Central Region Tournament MVP last weekend during the NCAA Division II Tournament, but the former Baptist Prep standout has played with a heavy heart for the majority of 2017 after younger sister Kennedy died on Jan. 1.
Harding sophomore forward Caroline Hogue (right) has accumulated a number of accolades in her first season with the Lady Bisons, including being named the Central Region Tournament MVP last weekend during the NCAA Division II Tournament, but the former Baptist Prep standout has played with a heavy heart for the majority of 2017 after younger sister Kennedy died on Jan. 1.

SEARCY -- By all accounts, Kennedy Hogue would be enjoying the magical ride experienced by the Harding University women's basketball team.

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Kennedy Hogue

Kennedy's older sister, Caroline Hogue, a sophomore forward, is a big reason the Lady Bisons (30-3) have advanced to play in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, where they play today in Columbus, Ohio, against Queens (N.Y.) College.

Caroline Hogue, a 6-1 forward, leads Harding in scoring (13.4 points per game) and rebounding (8.7 per game) in her first season with Harding after transferring from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, a NCAA Division I school that plays in the Summit League.

Hogue, the Great American Conference Newcomer of the Year and a first-team All-GAC player, earned the Central Regional Tournament MVP for her play over three games last weekend at Rhodes Field House, averaging 14.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.

But Hogue's banner season has been a bittersweet one.

Kennedy, Caroline's biggest fan, died on New Year's Day, nearly one year after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in January 2016.

Kennedy was scheduled to have three surgeries to help treat her disease. She had her colon removed in her first surgery in August. But after a second surgery in November, Kennedy never fully recovered.

"Most of it is a blur, but I remember very specific things," Caroline Hogue said of Kennedy's battle. "It's something that I never want to experience again. It's something that I don't want anyone else to go through. It was incredibly painful."

'THE WORST DAY'

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes long-lasting inflammation and ulcers in a person's digestive tract. It affects the innermost lining of a person's large intestine (colon) and rectum. There is no cure for ulcerative colitis, but treatment can reduce signs and symptoms of the disease and can bring about long-term remission.

According to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, about 1.4 million Americans have either ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease.

Kennedy, three years younger than Caroline and nicknamed "Weezy" by her sister when she was in the sixth grade, never got a chance to follow in her sister's footsteps at Little Rock's Baptist Prep, which was known as Arkansas Baptist when Caroline played there from 2011-2015.

Caroline Hogue said her sister was hoping to play basketball for Baptist Prep in 2016-2017. Kennedy, a forward like her two older sisters Katelyn and Caroline, had a back injury before her freshman year in 2014-2015 and could not play that season or in her sophomore season, 2015-2016. Kennedy's diagnosis in January 2016, did not allow her to return to the court.

Kennedy's illness didn't stop her from following Caroline's career, at Nebraska-Omaha or Harding.

When Caroline was in Omaha, where she averaged 9.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in her only season with the Mavericks, Kennedy followed her sister through technology.

"She was all over it," Caroline Hogue said. "She would text me and FaceTime me. She wanted to talk about the games. She was so incredibly excited."

Naturally, Kennedy was excited to have her sister back in Arkansas at Harding, which is 52 miles from Little Rock. Caroline was more than happy to play basketball closer to home.

Caroline came to her parents' home Dec. 31 after a party at Harding women's basketball Coach Tim Kirby's house to spend New Year's Eve with her sister, who could not go out because of her illness.

When she arrived at her home, Caroline asked Kennedy how her day was going. Caroline said Kennedy looked weak and shortly after coming home, she picked her sister up and took her to her room.

"I told her good night. I kissed her on the head and told her, 'I love you,' like I always do," Caroline Hogue said. "And then that was the last interaction I got to have with her."

On the morning of Jan. 1, Caroline and her family found Kennedy in her bedroom. She had died in her sleep at the age of 17 from complications of her illness.

Caroline Hogue calls it the worst day of her life.

'ALL TOGETHER'

The entire Harding women's basketball team, which had a 7-2 record at the time, traveled to Little Rock on New Year's Day to visit Caroline and her family, at Caroline's request. Harding's players took Caroline out to eat, which allowed her, Kirby said, to breathe and to try to relax during a difficult time in her life.

Kirby said that Harding, a private liberal arts university associated with the Churches of Christ, is different from most places in America. His views were confirmed, he said, by how his players and fellow students treated Caroline after her sister's death. The team also attended Kennedy's funeral Jan. 4 at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, a service that hosted more than 2,000 people.

"It's a pretty good family atmosphere," Kirby said. "She's been taken in by our campus, not just the team."

Caroline Hogue said when she decided to transfer to Harding, she had no idea how emotional her reunion in Arkansas was going to be.

"I got to spend her last birthday with her," Caroline said Kennedy, who turned 17 on Sept. 23. "I got to do so many things with her here instead of being nine hours away where I got to see my family only a handful of times.

"In hindsight, I can see how God has shifted and worked to put us all together to spend the last months with her. I appreciate that as I look back on that."

PLAYING THROUGH PAIN

Caroline did not miss a game after Kennedy's death. She had four points in Harding's 74-67 victory over East Central (Okla.) on Jan. 5 before finishing with a team-high 15 points for the Lady Bisons in their 72-69 victory against Southeastern Oklahoma State on Jan. 7.

Before Harding's Jan. 5 game, Hogue posted a message on Twitter, "Gotta do it for my girl", with Kennedy's initials KH, Kennedy's No. 23 and Romans 8:18 on her shoes. Romans 8:18 reads, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."

Caroline Hogue didn't miss a game, but she said January was difficult.

"I didn't want to play basketball. I didn't want to go to school," she said. "But in reality, that's not how life works. You can't just sit down and not do anything."

Instead, Hogue has played a big role as the Lady Bisons have put together its first 30-victory season.

Harding finished 20-1 in the GAC, earning the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament in Bartlesville, Okla. The Lady Bisons defeated the University of Arkansas at Monticello, East Central and Arkansas Tech University to clinch their third GAC tournament championship.

Caroline Hogue said the way her teammates have responded to her family helped shift Harding's season.

"We have each other's backs not only on the court but off the court, too," she said.

Hogue is Harding's single-season leader in blocked shots with 80. It's a part of her game that Kirby said has made a difference for the Lady Bisons this season.

"She brings so many different things defensively," Kirby said. "She takes so much pride in blocking shots. She has some incredible timing on affecting somebody's shot. Even if it's not blocked, it's contested. She's a presence in there."

'STORMED THE COURT'

Harding was on the brink of elimination March 13 as it trailed by 18 points against Emporia State in the Central Regional championship game at Rhodes Field House. But, the Lady Bisons' came back to win 58-56. Hogue had 13 points in the victory.

What would Kennedy Hogue think about her sister's team being one of the final eight teams left in NCAA Division II women's basketball?

"She would have stormed the court with us," said junior guard Sydney Layrock, of Paragould, who is a longtime friend and teammate of Caroline Hogue dating back to middle school. "She was a big Caroline person and she loved her sister. Caroline was one of her role models. You could see that.

"She would be freaking out right now. She was all about us. I can only imagine the celebration she would be doing right now."

Caroline Hogue described her younger sister as incredible human being.

"She made me laugh all the time," Caroline Hogue said. "I know that lots of people fight with their siblings. But me and my sisters never did. We were always really close. We told each other everything and shared our lives with each other. We hung out. For me, it's extra tough to lose her because she was one of my best friends.

"It's hard when someone goes unexpectedly. You never get to say as much as you want to say. She's still around. She's still here in spirit."

Sports on 03/21/2017

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