One instant. One slick road. Eighteen-year-old Becca Lueke lost her life when she swerved out of control on a patch of ice Monday Dec. 9. on her way back to Benedictine College. According to KCTV5 News, Kansas City police said Lueke was heading west and lost control of her vehicle on the overpass.  She crossed through the grass median and into the oncoming lanes where she was hit by an eastbound semi truck. She then hit a guardrail. This tragedy has touched the lives of so many, especially her family of nine, and her fellow St. Teresa’s Academy 2013 graduates.

Thursday Dec. 12, over 100 people attended a Mass held at Sion dedicated to Lueke. Since it was originally the Feast of Guadalupe, everyone was invited to bring a single rose to honor Leuke.

Kelly Gardella, St. Teresa’s senior, said that it has been really quiet at school.  Coming to the mass at Sion meant a lot to her and seeing everyone supporting Lueke and St. Teresa’s helped her process this tragedy.

Head of School Chris Broderick announced Thursday morning that Lueke’s father texted his thanks to the Sion community for hosting the Mass in his daughter’s memory.

Lueke was a stand-out basketball player at St. Teresa’s.  Maggie Jo Rellihan, basketball co-captain with Lueke, has known Lueke ever since they played competitive basketball against each other throughout grade school. They ended up going to St. Teresa’s together and played on the varsity basketball team all four years. Senior year, Rellihan and Lueke led their team to a district championship. Throughout their senior basketball career, they tried to set a good example for their teammates. Their unique bond as leaders made their team very close.

“Besides the fact that we were teammates, we were friends and STA sisters for four years,” Rellihan said.

Along with her significant basketball career, she was an incredible example of faith and a family-oriented person according to Rellihan. She said that her impact on the STA student body was her humor, school spirit, intelligence and athleticism.

Rellihan found out about this horrific news after one of her finals when she checked her phone and she had a message from her old basketball team manager, Sophie Bono, daughter of French teacher Liz Bono.

Sophie remembered as manager of the team what a thoughtful and determined person Lueke was. Lueke would oftentimes host team dinners to show her dedication to this tight-knit team. Her most special moment with Lueke as a manager was when they won their district championship game and Lueke came off the court crying.

“We went around the team in a huddle and everyone said what they loved about each other,” Sophie said.

On the St. Teresa’s campus, girls crowded around the STA seal in their quad and placed flowers, pictures, and notes for Lueke according to St. Teresa’s junior Sinead McGonagle.

“Tuesday morning it was really emotional when people were putting down their flowers. People would stop and say prayers and everyone was crying. You could really feel the sisterhood when we were giving each other hugs around her memorial,” McGonagle said.

Many Sion students, such as senior Madison Hummel had the privilege of meeting and playing basketball with Lueke.

“She was a really sweet girl and always had good sportsmanship. She was such a great leader,” Hummel said.

Rellihan said that this death affected her in many ways that she found hard to express.

“I was close to the family and it hurts me to see them go through this tragedy. However, I’ve been able to laugh at all of the hilarious stories as well as witness how amazing our community is. It makes me appreciate every day and how lucky we are to live in such a loving community,” Rellihan said.