The three seniors on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team have had different paths during their college experience.
Each has had ups and downs along the way, leading up to today's senior day and regular-season finale against East Tennessee State. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at McKenzie Arena.
Destiny Bramblett, Kayla Freeman and Ka'Vonne Towns were recruited by former Mocs coach Wes Moore and have had to learn the new style of coach Jim Foster, now in his second season at UTC. They've all shared in the Mocs' magic run this season, which has UTC ranked No. 18 in the nation by The Associated Press with a record of 25-3 and unbeaten so far in Southern Conference play.
While the contributions of Bramblett and Towns have been visible on the court, Freeman's role is seen primarily in practice and in many ways is just as important and inspirational as that of her classmates. She was injured in her first game playing for Foster, underwent surgery and rehab but was unable to play again. Yet she's stayed with her teammates as a student coach, helping the Mocs however she can.
UTC's Destiny Bramblett (24) drives the lane against the Spartans in this Feb. 14, 2015, photo."Kayla is a great model of how to handle your business," Foster said. "She's a great student, and the surgery she had to go through and the rehab was arduous.
"She just attacked it like crazy like she does everything. She's just great to have around."
Towns said last week that Freeman is just as important to the Mocs' success as any other player or coach in getting the team ready to play.
"Even though she's not out there, it's almost the same thing," Towns said. "She's so supportive, and she can see things that we might not be able to see when we're out there on the court.
"She lets us know what we can improve on in practice and in the games. It's still like she's out there."
With Freeman's help from the sideline, Towns and Bramblett have helped take over a UTC team that lost five seniors from last season and wasn't expected by some to dominate the league again.
Bramblett has been called upon to play the post in place of sophomore Jasmine Joyner at times. The 5-foot-11 forward from Radcliff, Ky., gives UTC a different look on the baseline, forcing opposing defenses to adjust to her ability to score from the perimeter as well as in the paint.
A solid contributor off the bench in every game this season, Bramblett is averaging 5.4 points per game, and her 10 points and five rebounds in the Mocs' first game against ETSU played a big role in UTC's hard-fought 64-56 win. She expects another tough battle today from the Bucs.
"They're a really good team," she said. "It's good for them in their first year back in the conference that they're making a statement.
Lady Mocs players Kayla Freeman (32), left, and Faith Dupree (34) work on blocking out drills during their game in this 2013 file photo. "With them coming in on our senior day, they're going to try to get us on the ropes again. ... I think it will be a good game."
Bramblett said despite taking a redshirt year last season to recover from injury, her time at UTC has flown by.
"Right now it hasn't hit me," she said about today being her final home game, "but the other day me and Ka'Vonne were talking ... and I said 'Man, it just went by super fast.' Even though this is my fifth year, it went by so fast."
For Towns, the challenges have been as big if not bigger than Bramblett's. For the first time in her college career she was asked to play point guard, a position that required her to take charge of the team at times.
"I tried not to put too much pressure on myself, because then I start to over think," the Lilburn, Ga., native said. "I said to myself that I had to step up this year and be more of a vocal leader than I'd ever been. So I did put some pressure on myself to be more vocal."
Towns embraced her new role as a steadying force at times in tight games, where her team-best .857 percentage from the free-throw line has helped the Mocs seal more than one victory.
"To me leaders or leaders ... you are or you're not, in my opinion," Foster said of Towns. "Some people have it and it's there, but their opportunity to step up hasn't been presented yet.
"By the very nature of the position in basketball, the point guard is a leader. Ka'Vonne hadn't played that position in college, and she gets it done. To me, that was terrific."
So today Towns and Bramblett will be joined by Freeman in the pregame senior day ceremony, one step closer to completing a long journey that has the Mocs on the verge of a high seed and perhaps a special run in the NCAA tournament.
While it's been challenging in different ways for all three, it would have been hard to fault Freeman if she had left basketball behind after learning her playing days were over to focus on finishing her psychology degree and preparing for graduate school.
The thought never crossed her mind.
"I love my teammates," she said. "I would have felt like I was letting them down if I'd (left the team), and I would have let myself down.
"I came to UTC and planned on playing for four years, but sometimes things don't go as planned. But I still wanted to be a big part of the team, and it never cross my mind to just be a regular student. I just wanted to help out in any way that I could."
Contact Jim Tanner at jtanner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6478. Follow him at twitter.com/JFTanner.