Head women’s basketball coach Kip Drown had his team finalized early in July. He’d signed the girls he wanted to, and felt like he was capable of putting together a lineup that could compete for the RMAC Championship.

Drown had one scholarship left over, but had decided to save it a year and get a head start looking at next year’s talent. It was going to take a really good player for him to give up that scholarship, and usually all the good talent has been signed at that point in the recruiting season, Drown said.

When he walked in to his office on a Sunday afternoon, he had a message on his phone that changed his mind on what to do with that leftover money.

The message was from Ken Swartz, the head basketball coach from Western Wyoming Community College. He said one of his former players, Shandryn Trumble, was looking for a place to play.

In the message he explained that after playing two seasons for him, Trumble had spent the 2007-’08 season playing for Texas State University, a Division I school in San Marcos, Texas.

Trumble got off to an undesirable start at TSU when she got injured in the weight room and had to sit out the first six weeks of basketball.

Toward the end of the year Trumble decided, for no one reason in particular, basketball at TSU was not for her.

She said she’s still not able to pinpoint one reason that made her want to leave, but something didn’t feel right about the situation.

“I liked it a lot,” Trumble said. “I miss the players and the coaches. I think that (the injury) played a part in it, but I don’t want to put it all on that.”

In fact, she enjoyed TSU and respected the coaches so much, she said the hardest conversation she ever had to have was sitting down with TSU head coach Suzanne Fox to tell her she would not be returning the next season.

“It was really like breaking up with a boyfriend,” Trumble said. “I was so nervous going into that conversation.”

The breakup made room for a new relationship, though. Within 10 days of getting the message on his answering machine, Drown had signed the Division I transfer who he had never before heard of to the remaining scholarship.

Not only did Drown sign a Division I player, he signed a senior making that money available again for next year’s class.

Drown, without hesitation, said Trumble’s best basketball asset is her jump shot.

“I’ve told her a few times I want her to look to shoot the ball more from the perimeter,” Drown said. “With all the screens we run there is no reason she won’t get good looks from the perimeter.”

Like most new players to Drown’s self-proclaimed “old-school system,” it is taking some time for her to learn the specifics.

“You can tell she takes pride in practice, and wants to do it well,” Drown said. “As soon as she gets comfortable in our system, I think she’s really going to be a nice player. I feel bad for her because every time she gets it down, we throw a wrinkle in and add something.”

It’s no surprise why Trumble chose Colorado. She said she’s always enjoyed nature and the mountains so the state has always attracted her.

The art major admitted she really doesn’t know what she plans on doing after graduating school.

“I guess I label myself as a hippie. I don’t know what’s in store for me after this. I want to do some traveling. We’ll see where the wind blows me,” she said.