Overcoming the Odds

If there’s one thing you shouldn’t tell Sheyvonne Owens ’23, it’s that she can’t do something.

She knows better — and a lifetime of overcoming the obstacles placed in her way proves she’s right.

Growing up in west Orlando, Florida, Owens didn’t have it easy. Her childhood was full of instability, with many moves and shuttling back and forth between her mother’s house and her grandmother’s. She went to five elementary schools and two middle schools. The rough neighborhood she grew up in, she explains, was often referred to as “Crime Hills” instead of Pine Hills. “We were moving around a whole lot, and you know, you have your parents doing the best they can, but it’s just the circumstances given,” she says.

One of six children, Owens was struggling in school, getting into conflicts with her classmates. “I was in a new [middle] school that was very confrontational,” she says. “It was almost like you were figuring it out day by day, like what’s next – but not in a very positive or productive way.”

Owens’s mother was trying to teach her life lessons, but she was often at work by the time Owens got home from school. Owens frequently cooked dinner for the family. As she moved into high school, Owens’s mother and stepfather knew something had to change, and they worked hard to get the family into another neighborhood.

An active young student, Owens had played basketball and soccer, as well as running track and participating in dance. Once she knew she wanted to focus on basketball, she says, she finally found stability.

BY SARAH HUXFORD

Instability at home wasn’t her only challenge, though. Owens had major knee surgery in seventh grade – the first of four surgeries. She also had an early growth spurt, and she says her mother taught her a lot about learning to love herself through those awkward years.

Her high school coach saw her passion and natural athletic ability, particularly her strength as a rebounder. “I didn’t know a lick about making a layup properly,” she laughs. “Rebounding was always my niche.”

That coach let Owens play both varsity and JV that year, and the varsity team went to the Final Four — which gave Owens, who was recovering from another surgery, the motivation to work hard for the following year. She was a starter from her sophomore through senior years, breaking school records along the way. She also served as a team captain.

“I blossomed into who I am as a player,” she recalls. “There were so many odds against me, where people would tell me, ‘you’re not good enough.’ And I was just like, ‘I’m going to keep going, I’m not going to stop. When you tell me I’m not good enough, I’m going to show you that I’m better.’”

Owens started her basketball career at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida, but things didn’t go smoothly in her first year. She ended up red-shirting, and she’d never gone a whole season without playing before. Sitting on the sidelines was tough.

“I really got into a bad slump,” she says. “I was in a depression from not being able to play.” A toxic relationship with a boyfriend also didn’t help. She was juggling work and her classes, and she found herself getting out of shape.

“I didn’t have basketball as my release anymore,” Owens says, “so I was crashing and burning. But God just put me in a place where He said, ‘Remember me. Remember what I’ve brought you through.’” After that moment, she was determined to turn things around. She started working out again, ended the toxic relationship, and focused on getting back into shape for her next year.

“Now my coach doesn’t believe in me the same,” she says, recalling the struggle of having to prove herself all over again. It was her first experience with not getting playing time. But she kept working hard, waiting on her opportunity to come — and it did, in the second half of the season.

After two seasons at Hillsborough, Owens started hearing from coaches interested in recruiting her for the remainder of her college career. She had interest from NCAA Division I and II programs, but she wanted to make her decision based on the coach and the relationship she thought she’d have with him or her. “I’d experienced that feeling of a coach giving up on you and not believing in you,” she says. “I didn’t want to deal with that again.”

She found the right coach in Point’s Tory Wooley ’12. “I turned down higher-division schools to be here because of the person he showed me he was,” Owens says. “God was shutting every other door.”

Owens is often the “mom figure” on her teams, with younger players looking up to her for advice on everything from basketball to cooking and laundry. She felt God had a role for her to play on the team at Point – and she was right.

“Shey is the spiritual leader of our team,” says Wooley. “She always finds a way to remain faithful and true to her values.”

Since coming to Point, Owens has once again grown closer to her grandmother, who travels to attend both home and away games. “She tells me, regardless of what you do, be a beast at it — be the best one you can be at it,” Owens says. “I run my energy off of that.”

And Owens certainly has given her all on the court. This year, she broke University records for most rebounds in a season and a game. She had 22 rebounds in two separate games.

“Shey has been an important piece of our success on the court this season. Her ability to run the floor and rebound the ball is special and has added value to our team,” says Wooley.

An exercise science major, Owens hopes to start a program for young athletes who are overcoming injuries. She points out that many athletes are experiencing major injuries at younger and younger ages, and they’re often pushed

to go back to sports too soon. “I want to focus on proper treatment and recovery for athletes who’ve been through what I’ve been through,” she says. “I want to provide them with the proper therapy and the proper skill set to perform at the level they want to without risking their bodies once again.”

Owens says the true sisterhood she’s found with her teammates at Point has been a highlight of her time here. She loves praying with her teammates and encouraging them. “God had a purpose for me on this team,” she says. “I’m extremely joyful to give that message to somebody else that needs it.”

She has also enjoyed the Bible classes she’s taken at Point. “Growing up, I never really learned how to stop and understand the Word itself,” she explains. “It made me want to go all in when it comes down to my relationship with God, like, I’m going to put all my trust and all my faith in you and your Word, because now I understand who you are a little bit better.”

It’s easy to see how Owens continues to inspire her teammates and others who might be facing difficult times. “You don’t have to give up,” she says. “You don’t have to settle. You’re going to have some rough days, but just push through.”