Austin Novak
Sports Reporter

So when you think of Courtney McCaig, you think women’s basketball here at Mesa State College. But there is more to Courtney than meets the eye.
A simple girl who likes to play video games and watch Sports Center and relax with friends off the court, what a lot of people wouldn’t know from she was born in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada and then moved to Denver when she was six.
She attended Chatfield high school in Littleton and while her team tied for league championship her junior year, McCaig never made it past the second round of the playoffs. After high school she decided to come to Mesa State which she decided was far enough from home, a good community and environment, and the fact that everyone around here loved sports.
“I thought it was a good campus to come to,” McCaig said.
But basketball almost came to a hold in McCaig’s career during her sophomore year of high school. She blew out her ankle and had to have her whole ankle repaired. The chances of her playing were slim but she fought her way back and made it back to the court.
One person who influenced McCaig and got her into basketball was her older sister, who she wanted to be like. McCaig kept playing because she loved the sport.
“I’ve kept growing and kept getting better at basketball and basketball seems to be the one sport I love the most,” McCaig said.
From her freshman year to the present, she has matured on and off the court.
“I’m a completely different person,” McCaig said. “I think that basketball has made me more mature than people who don’t play sports also going through a lot of challenges and diversity”
McCaig stepped into a leadership role with this year’s team, which has gone through injuries that have limited the team to seven healthy players on the roster.
“It has been a tough year,” she said. “With only five juniors, supporting each other is important. Being a leader is a lot of pressure but I like that role because everyone looks up to you and comes to you for advice.”
There are plenty of things that McCaig has accomplished here at Mesa, but the ultimate goal that she wants to achieve going into her senior year next season is winning the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship
“We’ve got a good group of girls coming back next year and I truly think that we can win RMAC and make it to the national tournament” McCaig said.