Randrea Wright’s newbie status earned her the ASUN Conference Freshman of the Week four times so far this basketball season.

Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Wright is a freshman point guard on UCA’s women’s basketball team.

On Monday, Feb. 21, it was announced that Wright was named ASUN Conference Freshman of the Week following the team’s win against the Bellarmine Knights.

At first, Wright had no idea that freshman recognition was even a thing.

“The first time I was named [ASUN Conference Freshman of the Week], I was unaware that I had even received the award,” Wright said. “When I found out, it made me feel recognized and gave me that extra push that there is more to come.”

However, Wright could not always see the brighter side of things as she had a rocky start transitioning between high school basketball and the demands of being a college athlete.

At the start of pre-season, the women’s basketball team did not spend a lot of time on the court. Instead, it spent the majority of its time on the field conditioning and getting in shape, which Wright said was both physically and mentally tough.

“When I was first being recruited, coach [Sandra Rushing] said she had a plan for me, a plan that I was all for,” Wright said. “Because of that, I needed to prove that I wanted to be here and that I had the want to get better. I did not want to let the adversity stop me from following through with things.”

Carrying that same mentality through the rest of pre-season, Wright overcame her obstacles and landed a starting position in the first game of the season.

“Entering the first game, I was not confident as I did not have a feel for the college game yet,” Wright said.

Despite this, Wright clocked 34 minutes of playing time, which is uncommonly high for freshman athletes, as they usually sit the bench due to their lack of experience.

“The more games I played, the more comfortable I became,” Wright said. “Coach had a lot to do with it; she played me as a freshman and trusted me with the ball.”

This confidence quickly grew, as Wright was first recognized as ASUN’s Conference Freshman Player of the Week after the team’s first week of games back in November 2021.

Since then, Wright has played 11 double-digit scoring games, with five of those games being back-to-back.

Without her teammates, Wright said those high-scoring points would not have been possible.

“It is all a team effort. We all flow together and put in a mutual amount of hard work,” Wright said. “When we don’t, we know there is work to do.”

Wright does not see the game of basketball as ‘work,’ however. She sees it as an opportunity to put her worries to rest.

“Playing basketball is my escape, my stress relief, a time where I forget about reality as the game takes me away,” Wright said.