SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Through warmups and the game, the cell phone sat on the team’s bench.
In the small gym in Brookville, N.Y., Long Island, no opponent could match Kate Koval that February night. Her coach yelled to her, calling the plays, and Koval instinctively reacted. Her body was on the court, but her mind was elsewhere.
She repeatedly glanced at the bench to see if the phone had lit up or vibrated. She heard all the sounds of the gym — shoes squeaking, buzzers, whistles, fans — but all she focused on was a ring from the sideline. A timeout from her coach. A voice on the other end of the call.
Before the game, her coach, Christina Raiti, had asked the opposing coach and head referee to make an exception to the rules and allow the phone on the sideline. They all agreed and said she could call a timeout — no matter which team had possession — if it rang.
They all hoped it would. But it remained on the bench. Silent.
That morning, Koval had woken around 5 and received a call from her mother, Natalia.
She and Kate’s father were OK, her mom emphasized as she rushed around the apartment, preparing to evacuate Kyiv, Ukraine. They would call later when they could.
Koval’s parents lived near the city center, not far from the main government buildings. Hours before, at…
