Before becoming a standout in Willett Hall, Dayna Rouse was a three-sport athlete at The Ellis School in Pittsburgh, Pa. and now is a standout junior forward for the Longwood women’s basketball team.
Rouse discovered her love for basketball freshman year of high school but didn’t play at the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) level until her junior year.
When stepping on the floor, Rouse is playing through a pain stemming from an injury suffered in the middle of her freshman season in Willett Hall. The injury occurred January of 2016 against Campbell University.
“It was sort-of a freak accident where I landed on the side of my foot and somebody pushed into my leg and I fractured my fibula,” said Rouse.
At that point in the season, Rouse was averaging 8.8 points-per-game which ended up ranking second on the team, coupled with a field goal percentage near 47 percent, which all came to a halt after 15 games.
As a result, the Pittsburgh native was confound to a walking boot for three months.
“It was a very stagnant recovery and there wasn’t much progress, but it wasn’t something I had to have surgery on because it wasn’t displaced and it healed on its own, but it’s somewhat reoccurring now and that’s what’s bothering me,” said Rouse.
During the initial time of recovery, Rouse leaned on her freshman teammates for support during the trying times.
“My freshman year I actually came in with three freshmen, it was Winnie (Miller), Jada (Russell), and Khaila (Hall)," Rouse said. "Definitely just being with all of them throughout that whole process was very nice because they all kept me company and made sure I didn’t isolate myself and stuff like that."
After a sophomore season which only saw Rouse average 5.5 points-per-game and have a field goal percentage of 39 percent, she admitted the season was a setback due to the injury. However, Rouse looked at her junior season as a chance to make up for lost time.
In the midst of her team’s current struggles, Rouse has been one of the bright spots averaging a team-best 13.9 points-per-game, and a conference-best 60.2 percent from the field, coupled with a free throw percentage of 83.1 percent, which also leads the Big South Conference.
Upon her arrival, first-year head coach Rebecca Tillett was excited about the potential Rouse had if she could have a fully healthy season to show it.
“I knew she had struggled being healthy a whole season and I felt like from the research I’d done on her, if she had a healthy season it could be a lot of fun,” said Tillett.
Tillett said she has seen growth from Rouse in two key areas over the course of the season with consistency and contributing ideas.
“Obviously her consistent offensive performance, just the field goal percentage speaks for itself," Tillett said. "We are challenging her to say those ideas and share those ideas and she’s started doing that, and I think it’s going to have a positive impact on our team."
Rouse, who recently set a career high with 34 points and 11 rebounds in a win versus Gardner-Webb, is on pace to break Longwood’s single season field goal percentage record set by Kirsten Hillgaard in the 1993-94 season. Also, at a current free-throw percentage of 83.1 percent, Rouse would finish third on the single season free-throw percentage list.
As a psychology major, Rouse looks to go into sports psychology, but doesn’t rule out continuing to play the game after her time in a Longwood uniform ends.
“If I have opportunities to play basketball after school I will definitely consider those," said Rouse.
Dayna Rouse has been a force for the Lancers with a conference best 60.2 percent field goal percentage.
