Heartbroken. That’s how Union University’s women’s basketball team felt when they found out that their season was canceled. The team had just won the GSC conference tournament and was looking to carry that success into the NCAA regional tournament. However, it just wasn’t meant to be.
The team was at their hotel in Cleveland, Tenn., when they heard the news.
“I remember just instantly being devastated,” said Miracle Gray, a member of the women’s basketball team at the time and now a graduate assistant for the team.
Every member was upset. All of them had worked so hard to get to where they were, and to have the opportunity of playing in the regional tournament taken away was, like Gray said, “devastating.”
“It was weird because I [saw] people cry that I have never seen cry before,” said Sadie Knee, a women’s basketball player and sophomore criminal justice major.
After the team made it back to campus, everyone went their separate ways. It was uncertain when they would be able to practice together again to prepare for a new season; however, they had to do what they could to stay ready for whenever that might be.
Knee went home to Michigan. The gyms there were closed because of the pandemic, but she was able to find a basketball goal behind her middle school that she could use to stay sharp.
Fast forward to now, and the team is finally together on the court again. But because they will not get to play a game until at least Jan. 1, the team is using the extra time that they have to put more emphasis on the little things.
“We’re focusing more on our plays and the technicalities of each pass, each shot, what options we have off of each play while all working on our conditioning,” Knee said.
As the team works on their basketball skills at practice, they are also working toward becoming one as a team. This is their mission. Gray saw evidence of last year’s team being made one by the end of the season. Their unity was what helped them get to the regional tournament because they were all on the same page and had the same goal in mind.
To be unified, strong relationships must be established. The extra time that the team has gained because of the pandemic has allowed them to work on these relationships.
“This is just a time where the girls can build relationships, and we can build relationships with the girls so that, you know, when game day hits we all trust each other, we know our whys, and we know our mission,” Gray said.
Gray knows from experience that close relationships are essential for a team to be great.
“When you grow relationships, you gain trust. Trust leads on the court, [and] on the court, I mean it’s magic,” Gray said.
Knee and the others that were part of last year’s team are excited to be on the court again after the disappointment that they went through. The heartbreak has helped them to appreciate their time on the court more and to be even more excited when they can play again.
However, as the team moves forward, Knee and her teammates do not want to forget those who didn’t get to finish their final season as a Union Bulldog. Jada Smith, Caroline Hogue and Gray were the three seniors impacted by the shortened season.
“When we do get to play our first game, it’s going to be for Jada, Caroline, Miracle, the people who didn’t get to finish their college careers, at least from my mindset that’s who I’ll be playing for,” Knee said.
Photo Credit Union Photo Project
