Dyanla Rainey’s hardwood heroics helped the Marshall High School Commandos win a state title in 2018. Recently, the team paid homage to its former star by playing a charity game to raise money to help solve her tragic murder.
Rainey, 22, was fatally shot outside of her Maywood home on July 24. In August, Maywood Police said that they suspect someone driving a 2004 Buick Regal was involved in the shooting.
Police said the car’s Illinois license plate is BE25791 but that the plate may have changed. They said the four-door vehicle is black with grey trim. All of the car’s windows are darkly tinted.
On Oct. 14, the Marshall High girls’ basketball program hosted a charity game at the school in Chicago’s East Garfield Park community to raise money for a reward in Rainey’s murder case, which has still not been solved. Tickets for the game were $15 each.
Families and friends who spoke to media outlets said they hope the money leads to an arrest in the murder of the young woman affectionately known as DeDe.
Legendary retired Marshall High girls’ basketball coach Dorothy Gaters, a longtime Maywood resident, said Rainey’s mother, Margo Rainey, asked her to coordinate the charity game. DeDe played for Gaters when the team won state in 2018.
“When her mom asked me to do this, I didn’t even hesitate,” Gaters told CBS Chicago. “It’s kind of hard to go through it again. I was just devastated.”
DeDe’s death resonated across the city and suburbs, prompting many people to recall her performance during that 2018 state championship game.
Chicago Ald. Jason Ervin, a former Maywood village manager whose ward includes Marshall High, said DeDe delivered “one of the best high school championship performances” in state history.
“Her play in that game was reminiscent of Isiah Thomas in the 1988 Finals,” he said. “She played on a badly injured ankle, persevered, and made her team champions that day. May her soul Rest in Peace.”
Margo Rainey described her daughter as “the joy of the house,” before emphasizing her ultimate hopes for the game.
“I just want justice for my daughter,” Rainey told CBS.
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