Laurie Ewers (21) begins a drive for a basket against Richland High School during a game played in February 1984. Ewers lettered three times for Mars' girls basketball team, helping the Planets to section titles during her sophomore and junior seasons. She will be inducted into the Mars Athletic Hall of Fame in September.

This is the fifth in a series of seven articles profiling the Mars Athletic Hall of Fame's Class of 2017.

CHICAGO — Laurie (Ewers) Polite may have gotten involved in basketball because it was the sport of choice in her family.

But she stuck with it due to her love of the game.

The 1984 Mars High School graduate lettered for the Planets as a forward during her sophomore campaign and became a starter the next year. In both cases, she helped Mars win a section title.

Also competing in volleyball and track, she was chosen as the school's top female student-athlete her senior year.

Polite will join six others as part of Mars' 2017 Athletic Hall of Fame induction class Sept. 8.

“I come from a basketball family,” she said. “My dad, Gordon, walked on at Juniata College. My older brother, Todd, and younger brother, Doug, both played as well. We were always around basketball and gravitated toward it.

“I loved the speed and strategy of the game,” Polite added. “A lot of different types of people can play and everybody brings their own strengths to help the team. There are so many opportunities for a player to showcase their talent.”

A few months after qualifying for the state playoffs, Mars girls basketball was hit hard by graduations in the spring of 1983. The following fall, Polite was one of just three players returning with any varsity playing experience for first-year coach Kent Shoemaker.

“I didn't need to score much up until that point. I was more of a defensive player and got a lot of rebounds and steals. My senior year was a rebuilding year for us and I had to step up and be a scorer. It was hard for me.”

Though the Planets struggled as a team, Polite helped make the transition a bit smoother by leading the team in steals (55) and assists (86). She was also named the team's offensive player of the game eight times that season.

Polite went on to play college basketball at Division III Kenyon College in Ohio. Her knowledge of the game led her to another sport.

“I also played lacrosse for two years,” she said. “The defensive positioning in lacrosse is the exact same as basketball. I really enjoyed playing lacrosse.”

As an international studies major, Polite spent her junior year studying abroad in Japan at Waseda University. She and her husband, Blase, have two children — Tia (17) and Max (15). Both are involved in athletics.

“I watched my daughter start playing sports at a much younger age than I did,” she said. “I now appreciate even more the support and work from the coaches I had at Mars.”

Laurie Polite works in the Medicaid program for the state of Illinois. She will be returning to accept her induction.

“I'm thrilled,” she said. “It's an honor to be part of the women who came before me.”