Former Rhodes basketball star Lauren Sumski named to all-decade team – Commercial Appeal
Former Rhodes basketball star Lauren Sumski named to all-decade team Commercial Appeal
As she enters her second season as the women’s coach at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Lauren Sumski is reminded daily that the sound of bouncing basketballs never gets old.
All that dribbling certainly served Sumski (formerly Avant) well. She was recently reminded by D3hoops.com how valuable her shooting touch was, too. The former Rhodes College standout landed on the organization’s all-decade third team for her contributions to the Lynx from 2011 to 2014.
“Anytime you can be recognized for your efforts, it means something to you,” said Sumski, who played prep basketball at Lausanne. “It’s more of an honor to represent Rhodes and Memphis basketball. Everybody knows Memphis is a basketball city through and through. To be from Memphis — and to represent the Bluff City — obviously means a lot.”
Sumski transferred to Rhodes from the University of Tennessee prior to her sophomore year. The Lynx immediately doubled their number of overall wins from nine to 18. Rhodes went 25-4 in each of her last two seasons, with appearances at the Division III NCAA Tournament and Sumski being chosen first-team All-American. She departed as the school’s fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,373 points.
“Lauren was one of the greatest athletes and women’s basketball players in the history of our program,” said Rhodes’ former coach and current athletic director Matt Dean, in a statement. “As proud as I am of her accomplishments on the floor, I’m equally proud of how she has become one of the finest coaches in the sport of women’s basketball.”
Not long after graduation, Sumski returned to Rhodes to take over the program from Dean. During those two years, beginning in 2017-18, Sumski learned she was still the single-season record-holder in five statistical categories: Total points (692), points per game (25.6), field goals made (240), free throws made (180) and free throws attempted (241).
“They’re great reminders of hard work, but more so than anything, they’re just reminders of the great teammates that I had,” Sumski said. “They enabled me to just kind of do the things that I was able to do, in addition to the great coaches and the great support system that I had. I did spend a ton of time working really, really hard to be the best, well-rounded player that I could be.”
In Sumski’s two NCAA Tournament trips, the road to a possible national title began in Memphis. Rhodes’ Mallory Gymnasium was the site of first-round regional games. Both times, the Lynx won to advance. Both times, however, they lost in the second round by three points. Her last game — a 77-74 setback to UT Tyler — proved to be her most memorable moment.
“We’d just tied the game with a minute left,” she said. “I look around as I’m leaving the free throw line, and the crowd is going absolutely crazy. To see that place — people are screaming – it’s one of those surreal moments that I’ll hang onto for the rest of my life. Just looking around at all of the people that were pulling for us.”
In her last season as coach at Rhodes, Sumski helped guide the Lynx to a 17-12 record. They also qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
Said Dean: “She led us to two SAA (Southern Athletic Association) championships as a player, then returned to coach her school to another title. Not many can say that.”
A big Tiger welcome
The University of Memphis softball coaching staff has added volunteer assistant Kayla Bryant and graduate assistant Savannah Rosevear-Goetsch.
Prior to attending Cincinnati Christian University and Mount Marty University, Bryant obtained her associate’s degree from Southwest Tennessee Community College. Rosevear-Goetsch began her collegiate career at Middle Tennessee State before earning her bachelor’s degree at Christian Brothers.
“(Bryant) has a true passion to make a difference in our sport and in the lives of student-athletes,” said U of M coach Natalie Poole, in a school release. “Her experience playing and coaching will make an impact right away. As (Rosevear-Goetsch) furthers her education, she will get the opportunity to be around the program and see the inner workings of what coaches do as well as how our program is run.”
On the links
The high school golf season is under way, and in boys’ and girls’ matches at Forest Hill, Arlington’s Dalton Harrison and Brighton’s Molly Heath earned medalist honors. In a girls’ match at Wedgewood, Northpoint’s Ella Cress was the medalist.
Bob E. Mallory Jr. aced the 187-yard No. 7 using a 6-iron at Memphis Country Club.
Monte McCrary aced the 165-yard No. 15 (Legends) using a 5-hybrid at Memphis National.
Richard Ramsey aced the 110-yard No. 6 using an 8-iron at Forest Hill.
David Stone aced the 125-yard No. 7 using a pitching wedge at Southaven Golf Center.
Mike Toarmina aced the 162-yard No. 15 using a 6-iron at Colonial Country Club.
Chris Warner aced the 130-yard No. 7 using a 9-iron at Meadowbrook Country Club.
Beasley Wellford aced the 141-yard No. 16 using a 7-iron at Memphis Country Club.
Sunday Sports Brunch is a weekly look at movers, shakers and newsmakers on the Memphis sports scene, from youth level to the pros. If you have an item of interest, please contact Chris Van Tuyl at christopher.vantuyl@commercialappeal.com
Published 11:00 AM EDT Aug 16, 2020
