STATESBORO - For Georgia Southern women's basketball senior Nicole Gwynn, family has been a big catalyst in developing what kind of student-athlete she has become.

As the Eagles' leading scorer this season and the only player to start every game of the year, she is used to being relied upon on the court by her coaches and teammates.

But the Hartford, Connecticut, native has never forgotten why she plays and what she's looking for in both her on-court and off-court family, one that she has found in Statesboro.

In her early years, Nicole was not immediately tempted by basketball. "My dad played college at UConn. But I did not want to play - I did everything else," she says. "My sister [Alexis], she was four years older. Anything she tried, I wanted to try. So when she started playing basketball, that was it. My dad was ecstatic because he never wanted to force me into playing, but he always wanted me to play."

Nicole's sister ended up competing in track and field at UConn from 2016-19, and Nicole gave her sister's sport a try in high school - albeit a brief one. "I tried it. It was also a social thing because all of my friends did it. It was fun, but I wasn't very good at it. I thought, 'Well, if my sister did it then i'll be good at it.' No. I was not fast."

Basketball quickly became Nicole's focus. She became the all-time leading scorer at Wethersfield HS with 1,519 career points, earning first-team All-State honors in 2020, and she was an All-Conference performer all four years for the Eagles.

College basketball was clearly in the future plans for Nicole and her family, but one factor delayed the start of her career; the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I went to prep school out of high school because all of my offers were taken away because of COVID," Gwynn says. "But then, the season got canceled so I never got to actually play. I still trained, and went to Charlotte for an unsigned senior event in February [of 2021]. The head coach at South Carolina State saw me there. She was interested in me, but had no more spots."

After a discussion with her family, Nicole decided to walk on at South Carolina State, with her parents paying for her first year of school in Orangeburg, S.C. Her college basketball journey had begun.

"My second year, I earned my scholarship," Gwynn says. "After that year, I just felt like going in a different direction. I committed to Queens (NC) because I loved the coaches, and I had family in the area. So I went, and had a great year for myself. I scored 1,000 points, but it wasn't enough. I thought, 'Well, i've accomplished things individually, but I want team success.' That's when I got into the portal, met with Coach Hana and Coach Dex, and I thought that Georgia Southern was the place I want to be. For everything on and off the court that I valued."

Having to get comfortable with a new coaching staff and another new team didn't phase Nicole this season. "Every year, I've had a different coach," Gwynn says. "I knew how to adjust to that. It took me a little while to get used to what my role was going to be and to get used to playing with players who love the game like me. But I never felt out of place."

Nicole is averaging 12.4 points per game this season and her 1,394 career points is among the active leaders in Division I basketball. She is averaging 6.93 three-point attempts per game, which ranks fourth among all active DI players, and she also leads the Eagles at the free throw line, hitting 71 of 92 shots from the stripe for a 77.2% percentage that ranks sixth-best in the Sun Belt. Those that have seen her play this season know that when she takes her free throws, she doesn't take much time or even dribble. She is a catch-and-shoot free throw shooter.

"I've always shot on the left side, and I used to have a dribble," Gwynn says. "I was a junior [in high school] and I scored 49 points in a game, but I missed 10 free throws. My dad said 'no more dribbling, just catch it and shoot it.' Ever since then, that's what I've done. No dribbling. Just catch and shoot."

Her father, John Gwynn, and her mother, Monique Green-Gwynn, have been a fixture at all of the Eagles' games this season, home and away. Nicole knows that's not typical at this level, and she is appreciative.

"It means the world to me, because they know how hard I've worked to get where I am," Gwynn says. "For them to be able to come, to figure out a way to get here, with the flying and the expense of it. It means the world, and I think they know that and that's why they continue to do it. I don't even have words for it, I love it!"

Nicole is currently majoring in behavioral social sciences at Georgia Southern, with an eye on continuing her basketball journey both on and off the court when her Eagle days are done.

"I want to play basketball overseas, professionally," Gwynn says. "And after my time's done with that, I would like to be a coach. That's my goal. I'm so basketball involved, I feel like it's a job I want to actually do. All the connections and relationships that you build with people, it means a lot. I've made the best friends I've ever met and I've only known them for a year or two. Imagine years of coaching with people. Getting into this field would be so much fun and help people grow."

And when Nicole does find a spot overseas to play, she fully expects her parents to be right there in the stands to watch. "My dad just retired in December," Gwynn says. "They will be there for sure!"