Battles aren’t always won on the court. Playing Division I women’s basketball wasn’t even a thought for junior Ruba Abo Hashesh when her family immigrated to Sweden when she was six years old.
Abo Hashesh was born in Palestine and grew up during the middle of the Israeli war. Since birth, she has lived in the middle of the fight with her mother, Sonia, and sister within the Israeli borders. Her father, Anwar, did not, though he had a Palestinian passport. They were not able to see each other due to borders and checkpoints.
“We lived under Israeli oppression for a long time,” Abo Hashesh said. “I remember this one specific event, where the siren went off in our neighborhood and a bomb hit my neighbor’s house, then burned down our house. That’s when we decided we needed to get the hell out of there.”
Her father’s passport changed their lives forever, as it allowed him to leave the country and find a place to go. He went alone, traveling to Sweden to see how it was and get a place to stay before the rest of the family joined him.
“When moving out, we had to take special routes, you couldn’t just go to a plane and just go, because of the checkpoints, borders, and oppression that we lived in,” Abo Hashesh said. “Then we got to Sweden, and that’s when I remember my life started.”
It wasn’t until she was around 12 years old that Bradley’s junior point guard first shot a basketball.
“I kind of started playing basketball because it was a trend in my neighborhood,” Abo Hashesh said. “I was the first in my family to play basketball. I kind of did it because my friends did it, and I fell in love with it. Now I’m here.”
After learning the game in Europe, Abo Hashesh transferred her skills to America as a junior college guard at Iowa Western in 2020. She took some time adjusting to the different style of play, but in her sophomore year, she recorded over seven points, four rebounds and three assists per game.
Transferring to Bradley for her junior year, Abo Hashesh has averaged over six points and nearly four rebounds and three assists per game this season. In her first season as a Brave, Abo Hashesh continues to showcase her ability to overcome adversity.
Despite the rebuilding process on the Hilltop, her progression throughout the season has been evident. The guard has most noticeably improved by lowering her amount of turnovers from earlier in the season and snagged over 27 steals.
One of the reasons Abo Hashesh made the switch to Peoria was because of the environment in Iowa, wanting to play more as a team instead of the individual plays that the Reivers ran. However, that doesn’t stop her from holding herself to a higher standard.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve achieved my personal goals, I want to win games,” Abo Hashesh said. “I knew it was gonna be a rebuild year, and this was my first year playing at this kind of level. A lot of it has been nothing to lose [and] everything to gain, something [women’s basketball head coach Kate Popovec-Goss] always tells us.”
Popovec-Goss has put the ball in Abo Hashesh’s hands all season long, getting her to facilitate more efficiently as a point guard.
“Over time, she’s been able to adjust more to what we’ve asked her to do, and she’s in a more confident place, and I’m excited about that.” Popovec-Goss said. “I think the one thing that we’re asking her to do that’s different from earlier in the year is we’re trying to put her in positions to score more off the ball.”
Popovec-Goss is also in her first year at the Hilltop and appreciates the type of player that she has running the point.
“[Abo Hashesh] is one of our hardest working players day in and day out, she has tremendous passion for the game and is truly selfless, which is something you absolutely look for in a point guard.” Popovec-Goss said. “[She]] is a team-first always, do whatever-it-takes-to-win type of player, which is one of my favorite things about her.”
“She’s always looking to improve, she’s always in the gym, and more than anything she’s really committed to winning, it’s not about her, it’s about what she can do to help everyone else,” Popovec-Goss added.
Bradley’s head coach believes that after her unique and hardship-filled life, change doesn’t intimidate Abo Hashesh and is excited to watch her learn from her battles on the court and be a great presence in the locker room next year.
Sophomore Caroline Waite enjoys running down the court with Abo Hashesh, feeding off the competitiveness and drive she sees in her every day.
“Having different experiences and bringing those experiences to our team helps us from different perspectives,” Waite said. “Knowing how competitive this league is and how you have to bring your all every time. She is always able to do that for our team.”
Abo Hashesh still has one more year at Bradley, and she plans on giving her team and the Bradley faithful everything she has.
Yet, she believes that Bradley won’t be the last stop in her basketball career.
“At Bradley, I want to have successful seasons, I want to gain as many friendships, relationships and memories as possible to kind of wrap up my whole American experience,” Abo Hashesh said. “Outside of Bradley, I’m definitely going to continue playing basketball, probably in Europe. I’ve always had dreams of playing in Italy, Spain, France or even Sweden.”
