Life Lessons from a Redshirt Year

Hi Everyone,

This year has taught me one huge lesson that I would not trade for anything. I learned that sometimes what we see as bad, God uses for good. I remember last November, we played in a Thanksgiving tournament against Houston at UMass. Even though we were only about a month into the season I was already tired, or weary, even. I was tired of long practices every day, of only being in class two days a week because we had away games, of exerting endless amounts of energy on the court and being exhausted all the time, and sometimes even just tired of flying. I prayed constantly for the Lord to give me rest, not just an off day, but true rest. Time where I could rest my body and let it recover, rest my mind from the daily toils of school and basketball, and rest my spirit.

We played Houston as the first game in the tournament and about halfway into the third quarter, I went up for a rebound and came down on someone’s foot. Ankle rolled. Immediately I knew that this was more than just a roll, the pain was agonizing and I winced with every step. I honestly thought that it was broken and that I’d be out for the rest of the season.

If you followed last season, then you know that that was not the case. I had about three days off before I was back on the court doing different exercises to test the strength of my ankle and it was a six day turnaround before I was back in practice. Unfortunately, that is just the nature of the game. Despite the pain that I played with for the remainder of the season the Lord still saw it fit to bless me with the Big South Player of the Year award. This would not have happened had I not continued to play.

Fast forward a few months after my MRI and it turns out that my injury was a lot more serious than we thought and actually required two surgeries to fix. After a lot of prayer and guidance I decided to have the surgeries and sit out this season. That might have been the best decision of my life. Through this journey I have learned so much about the game of basketball, my teammates, and even my coaches. I have started to see the game as coaches do, and am able to understand the “why” behind the instruction that they are giving. These types of things you only learn when you are removed from the game as a player.

The biggest lesson by far though, is that sometimes injuries are sent to give you the rest that you have been asking for. I never thought that when I asked for rest the Lord would give me a whole year but I will always be grateful that He did. I get a whole year without the pressure to have to perform day in and day out, and a year without constantly replaying the events of the game in my mind wishing I could go back and correct my mistakes. I honestly don’t know that I could have performed at as high of a level as I was performing for the next two years if I did not get this break. I have learned that college basketball is hard work, but it is so worth it and if you just trust Him, He will not lead you astray.

Go Flames!

-Keyen Green #21

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Tatyana's Love of Roanoke & Cereal

Hello, my name is Tatyana Crowder. I am a senior from the greatest city in the world, Roanoke. While planning to write my final blog, I was very conflicted on what I wanted my last words to the Liberty Women’s Basketball blog followers to be, but after much deliberation I have decided. So, half of this blog will be devoted to seeking to convince my readers of how great Roanoke is and the latter will focus on my love of cereal, which is something that most people are unaware of.

The reason that I love my hometown so much is simply because it is where the people who are occupy my heart live - my family. Growing up in Roanoke truly wasn't that great but as a child and even into my teenage years, I knew that I wanted to be different from what I saw in my community. I decided that I would come back into the brokenness and be a light for the Lord. Now, in my senior season and as I prepare to launch into the real world, I have been reflecting on these four years and I am convinced that God works despite our failures and inadequacies. I can confidently submit to whatever the Lord has next for me and trust that His plans far outweigh my best attempts; how else does one go from a walk-on to team captain and earn a scholarship? Yes, Roanoke is the best city in the world and please trust me on this one. Absolutely, I so badly want to move back to my community and be a cultural hero while loving people and sharing the Truth of Scripture. But for now, I am trusting in the One who has been writing my story.

Okay, now that the most serious part of this blog is over we can move to the milk and cereal. I am sure most of you guys were unaware of my deep affection for a medium size bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios with 2% milk. Usually, I have at least one bowl of cereal a day because it is convenient and easy to make. I am not the best cook so I daily have cereal to boost my confidence for cooking bigger things, which will come after I enter the “real world”. Recently, I have tried Reese’s Puffs and boy oh boy is the peanut butter chocolate crunch worth every ounce of sugar.

Alright, this pretty much wraps up my blog. I consider it an honor to be member of this program and I cherish all the kind words of encouragement and prayer from our Flames Family. People will forget my name and my number, but it is my sincerest desire that people remember my Lord and that my short time on this team has pointed others to the Lord.

Go Flames!

-Tatyana Crowder #4

1 Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”

Getting to Know Ria

My name is Ria Gulley and I am from San Antonio, Texas. I am a redshirt sophomore and my favorite food is the  fruit dip from McAlister’s Deli and strawberries. I have 7 brothers and sisters, a cavalier king charles spaniel, and a long haired chihuahua. We have a few cats as well but I don’t count them because they are mainly outside and sometimes they run away. Most of my brothers and sisters played basketball, so I was pretty much forced into it. I wanted to play soccer but my grandma didn’t want to sit outside in the Texas heat. I spent my freshman year of college playing at Indiana University. I decided to transfer to Liberty to learn more about Jesus and how to defend my faith in this world.

I spend every summer traveling. This past summer I was able to go to Miami, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Turks and Caicos with some of my best friends. I met my very best friend in third grade when she moved to San Antonio from Miami. Ever since then, we clicked. She was musically gifted and I was book smart, but both of us loved athletics and were rather lazy. As we grew older, our schedules started to clash more often and we couldn’t be together as often. We also only had third grade, Spanish in seventh grade, and 1 semester of a health class senior year together. However, we did and still do, live in the same neighborhood, so I would always go on runs to her house. Now that we are both in college, we really only see each other for a little bit in May and for a couple of days around Christmas.

Fun Facts:

1.  I collect hotel pens.

2.  While I took a break from writing this, I was holding 2 cups of very hot water to make some hot chocolate with. I was trying to leave the elevator once it got to my floor, but I guess the door sensors didn’t sense me and the door continued to close on my left arm as I was slowly walking out, trying not to spill my hot water. The water from the left cup splashed onto my right arm and I screamed, set my cups down gently on the floor and ran down the hallway. My arm is now covered in burn marks, but the hot chocolate was good.

Go Flames!

-Ria Gulley #2

Moving Across the Country and Adjusting to College

Hello Everyone,

My name is Lizzie Moore. I am a freshman from San Jose, California. My experience moving across the country has been fun and exciting. There are a lot of differences between San Jose and Lynchburg.

Some things I like to do back home in California are shopping, going out to eat with my friends, going to the beach on sunny weekends, and hanging out with my family and pets. I also really love the coffee shops where I am from. My favorite coffee shop is Philz Coffee and my friends and I would go there to catch up and do homework.

At Liberty, I have enjoyed diving deeper into my spiritual life and developing a stronger relationship with Christ. I have developed strong bonds with my teammates all the while getting a college education. I have learned so many things since I arrived in Lynchburg just 6 months ago. I have learned that the most difficult things in life make you better in the long run. Learning to manage my time between school and basketball has been a huge part of being successful as a student-athlete here.

Being a part of the team is so much fun. I am #32 and I chose that number because that was the number I had in high school, so it has some sentimental value to it. Overall, Liberty has been a great choice for me not only as a basketball player but also academically and spiritually. I am so happy to be a part of the Flames Family!

Go Flames!

-Lizzie Moore #32

Brooke's Southwest Departure

Hi Everyone!!

I want to fill you in with what is going on in my life and how my path is starting to look a little bit different. I have decided to accept an internship position with Southwest Airlines for this spring semester. I will be moving to Dallas, Texas, this month to start my internship at the Southwest Headquarters. This was a very hard decision to make, but since my goal is to fly commercially, it is an amazing opportunity and I am super excited about it! Although basketball is ending sooner for me then I thought it was going to, I am excited to walk through the doors that the Lord is opening for me.

Wow, looking back over the past year and a half of being a part of the Liberty Women’s Basketball Team, a number of feelings rush to my head. The number one feeling is an overwhelming sense of thankfulness. I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to be on the Liberty basketball team and to get to know some amazing girls and coaches. What a blessing and life changing opportunity it has been! I will never be able to repay those that allowed me to have this experience.

Before I go, I want to thank you.

So first off, thank you Jesus for the blessing you allowed me to have by putting me on this awesome team and thank you for the doors you are opening up for me.

To all of the fans and my family, thank you for how you have supported me and our team! We wouldn’t be where we are without you!!

To all of my teammates, thank you. Thank you for loving me endlessly, supporting me always, and always putting a smile on my face.

Finally, to Coach Green and his staff, thank you. Thank you for believing in me, allowing me to follow my dreams, and for pointing me to Christ in everything that I do.

I will always be a part of the LUWBB Family and I will be cheering and supporting the team on, now until forever. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING, LIBERTY BASKETBALL FAMILY!!!

-Brooke Basinger #11