By: Todd Lindenmuth
LongwoodLancers.com
FARMVILLE, Va. – It'd be easy for Longwood women's basketball guard
Autumn Childress to look back on her career and commiserate on what might have been.
Childress has found a home at Longwood, both on the basketball court where she's enjoying a career year in her senior season and within her major of communication studies where she's preparing for a career in the media field.
Blossoming into one of the top players in the Big South in her senior season, Childress ranks as the conference's only player to average a double-double with 10.4 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per game, reaching those numbers despite battling injuries and sickness throughout much of the conference slate.
However, it hasn't always been that easy for Childress, for reasons beyond the injury and illness-related adversity she's faced in this season alone.
"Understanding my role on the team has been an adjustment, knowing that I'm now a senior leader on the team and I need to rebound and score," Childress said. "Knowing those roles helps me be successful on the court."
Early in her high school career, Childress was coveted by the likes of Duke, Maryland and Virginia, along with other perennial powers in women's college basketball. However, she suffered a rash of injuries throughout her high school career, which limited her to just one full, healthy season at Midlothian High School.
The 5-10 guard suffered her first injury during the AAU season of her freshman year in high school, going up for a routine layup in practice before landing awkwardly. She tore her lateral medial meniscus and missed four months of basketball.
After going through grueling, months-long rehabilitation and physical therapy, Childress returned to the court for her sophomore season. She hadn't even played a full possession in her first game back when disaster struck yet again. She went for a layup and tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), medial collateral ligament (MCL) and lateral medial meniscus in her right knee.
Two seasons, two major knee injuries.
While she was being coveted by the perennial powers of women's basketball, Childress was also being pursued by Longwood, as she received her first interest letter from the Lancer coaching staff as a high school sophomore after attending a showcase tournament.
Focused on her recovery from her first injury, Childress placed the letter aside with the many other offers that she had on the table.
Childress was able to come back from her second injury to have a successful junior season where she averaged 15.0 points per game en route to being named 2013 All-Dominion District. After that season, she went back and found the offer she had from Longwood and reached out to Longwood women's basketball coach
Bill Reinson, then in his second full season as the bench boss of the Lancers.
Reinson and the women's basketball staff invited Childress to Farmville to take in her first Longwood game. They offered her a scholarship that same day, seemingly putting a fairytale ending on Childress' comeback story.
However, just a few months later, disaster struck again.
For the third time in her high school career, a sharp pain in her knee sent Childress crumpling to the court. It happened during the tipoff of a game early in her senior season, and doctors ruled it another ACL tear, this time in her left knee. Childress' comeback tale, it seemed, was doomed to fail.
But the same night of Childress' injury – an injury that could have decimated her dream of playing college basketball – she received a phone call. On the other end of the line was Reinson, who assured her that the scholarship offer she'd previously been given was still on the table.
"He told me that as long as I was willing to work hard, he'd still offer the scholarship," Childress explained. "That was encouraging to know that a college coach still had faith in your abilities to have some sort of impact."
For Reinson, there was never a doubt that Childress wouldn't suit up as a Lancer.
"I never hesitated when Autumn was injured," Reinson said. "We made a commitment to each other, and there was never a question on my end."
Since coming to Longwood, Childress has thrived on and off the court. On the court, she's improved and gained confidence with each passing season, increasing her scoring average from 2.1 points per game as a freshman to 10.6 through 16 games as a senior this year.
This season, Childress has stepped her game up in other areas as well, becoming a dominant rebounder with a Big South-leading 10.3 boards per game – a number that would rank among the top 25 in the NCAA and atop the Big South had she been healthy for the full duration of the season.
"Autumn possesses all of the skills necessary to be an outstanding rebounder," Reinson said. "She's athletic, aggressive and really has a nose for the ball. It's no surprise that she leads the conference in rebounding."
Among the 16 games she's played this season, Childress has grabbed 10-plus rebounds 10 times, including a game against Gardner-Webb in early January when she matched Longwood's Division I record of 18 rebounds.
"That's definitely a great honor to have my name up there along with the other great people that have come through Longwood," Childress said. "Rebounding is all about heart, just who wants it more. I guess that goes to show that I want the season to go well, and by rebounding I can contribute."
With at least 14 rebounds in five games this season, Childress is Longwood's first player in the Division I era to accomplish the feat. Her nine double-doubles lead the Big South and are just two shy of
Chelsea Coward's 11 double-doubles during 2012-13 – the most by a Lancer in a single season in Longwood's Division I era.
Off the court, Childress has found a home in Longwood's communication studies program where she's pursuing not only her degree, but gaining real-world experience – whether its helping in the production of Lancer Central, assisting with sideline reporting during Longwood men's basketball games or working camera during a Big South Network broadcast -- to help her become a news anchor.
"I love broadcasting in general and all of the opportunities that have presented themselves," Childress said. "One of the coolest things I've done is having the opportunity to be a sideline reporter for the men's games. To actually do it for my school was a fun opportunity."
Childress gained her passion for news from her mother, who was an anchor at WRIC ABC 8 News in Richmond for 17 years.
"I grew up basically under her desk at work," Childress said. "To watch her on the news and seeing everything behind the scenes was definitely a factor that made me want to do this myself."
For Childress, she could've looked back on what could've been, but Longwood has provided her with a platform to achieve her basketball goals and gain experience in broadcasting.
"Longwood has been a great place for me," Childress said. "The opportunities that Longwood has provided for me to do things that I want to do while still playing basketball, I don't think I would've been able to do it anywhere else."
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