One-armed college basketball player makes women's Division III history

Описание: When her high school basketball coach cut her from the team senior year, Baileigh Sinaman-Daniel refused to let that rejection – or the fact that she was born with one arm – end her dream of playing the game that her childhood idol LeBron James made her fall in love with 15 years ago.

That determination led the 22-year-old Lesley University guard, her coach said, to become the first Division III women's basketball player with one arm to score in a collegiate game.

"I kind of just shot the ball with the anticipation that I would have to go and get it back on a rebound," Sinaman-Daniel said of her historic basket. "When the shot actually went in, I was more so surprised."

Her coach, Martin Rather, immediately called a timeout to mark the moment.

"My first thought was, 'That's history and we need to take a second to pause and celebrate it,'" Rather said. "Everybody just swarmed Baileigh, giving her high fives, celebrating her."

The Stafford, Virginia, native’s path to history was sparked by a painful rejection at Mountain View High School.

“I had played for my high school for about three years and my senior year of high school when I tried out again, as I always did, I actually got cut and the coach basically told me that I wasn't needed on the team,” she said.

That led to two days of misery and crying until, sitting in her car and eating some random food she can't even remember, she made a bold decision.

"I thought to myself, I could do this in college. What’s stopping me from doing this in college?” Sinaman-Daniel said. "So, I started emailing hundreds of coaches and it didn't really matter what division it was. I was just trying to get a possible maybe or even better – a yes."

That persistence caught Rather's attention when Sinaman-Daniel entered the transfer portal after two years at Warren Wilson College, in North Carolina.

At Lesley, Sinaman-Daniel has become known for her work ethic with the Lynx.

She's completed more individual practice sessions than any other player on the team, which is having its best season in 14 years and is in the playoffs, Rather said.

"I think any team in this country would benefit from having a player with Baileigh's heart on their team," Rather said.

The achievement is particularly notable given the scarcity of one-armed players in collegiate basketball who could serve as role model.

"It is not very common to see somebody with one arm playing basketball. I think there's probably about 2 or 3 of us in the collegiate level," Sinaman-Daniel said.

Her success required developing unique adaptations for fundamental basketball skills.

"Taking passes or giving a good pass or figuring out the right shooting form – I've had to tweak and adjust," she said.

Seven weeks after her historic shot Sinaman-Daniel scored her second basket on her birthday, adding a deeper layer of celebration to her breakthrough season.

She hopes her achievement will inspire others facing similar challenges.

"When people look at me, I just hope they see me as Beileigh. I hope they see me as a basketball player and also see me as somebody who's willing and able to do everything that everybody else is doing," she said.

Rather sees her impact extending beyond the court.

"We're showing that we can both win and have really high quality players that might not look like everybody else on our team," he said.