Garrison Excelling On and Off The Court

It was a moment of calm with nothing flowing through the mind of senior Lindsey Garrison as she caught the toss back from teammate Addy Blazer and smoothly drilled her fifth three-pointer of the game Wednesday.  

While it looked like business as usual for the Bethany sniper, this shot was a little different. As the ball went cleanly swished through the net, Garrison became the 19th member of the Bethany women's basketball 1,000-point club. She would add another three-pointer on the next possession to finish with 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting, including a precise 6-of-7 from three-point range, to finish the game with 1,004 career points to stand in 18th place all-time. 

There are players who will say they don't pay attention to the stats and records, but Garrison is not one of them. She knew entering Wednesday's game exactly where she stood.  

"After the Waynesburg game, I knew I was 20 points away," said Garrison. "But I wasn't worried about it because there are a lot of games left in the season. I knew I was going to hit it. I try not to focus on it. I am focused on winning and being with my teammates, and I am enjoying this year.  

"I had an idea in my head of how many (points) I was at," Garrison continued as she thought back to Wednesday's events. "I knew at halftime I had 11 (points) and I was like 'all right just a few more shots'. I wasn't trying to worry about it. My teammates found me when I was open and just knocked down the shots. But yeah, I was keeping track in my head." 

Garrison reflected on the hard work she put in with her father this past summer as the precipitous in achieving this feat. Every day this summer the duo was working out and getting shots up in Hummel Field House, a perk to living within 15 minutes of the campus. And popular to the contrary, the basket doesn't look bigger when on a roll.  

"It's mostly getting so many reps," said Garrison. "It's like the more you practice, the easier it does feel. You have confidence in yourself. Knowing my teammates have confidence in me helps a lot." 

While everyone sees the success in games, there are things that fans aren't privy to that make Garrison the person and player she is. She has taken a more active leadership role, not only through her dedication and work ethic but vocally, by holding her teammates to a higher standard.  

Her commitment to being special doesn't stop on the court. She excels in the classroom with a 3.92 GPA in education and she is active in the community. Her respect permeates through the Bethany community as evidenced by her selection as the 2024 Homecoming Queen.
 
"Lindsey is a great culture kid because we as coaches always preach put in the work and you will see the results and she is the epitome of that," said Bethany College Head Coach Mikayla Lopez. "There is no one who puts in more hours in the gym, and to see it translate to the floor is really exciting. Lindsey's shot has the ability to erupt gymnasiums and bring a crazy amount of energy to the game." 

She accomplished the feat in just 62 games, and Garrison is on pace for the best season of her career. But arriving at this accomplishment didn't come without a speed bump. Three games into her sophomore season, the then reigning Presidents' Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year suffered a season-ending injury.  

"First, when I got injured, it was definitely hard because I never got injured like that before when I couldn't play," said Garrison. "It was a different perspective being on the bench, having to step back from being on the court and try to help my teammates in other ways. I wanted to be out there so bad, so it was definitely hard.  

"Working back from the injury made me appreciate the game more because I missed it so much not being able to play," Garrison continued. 

Getting Garrison, the Wheeling Park graduate, to Bethany came down to a "homely feeling". Recruited by now Vice President of Enrollment and Athletics Brian Sansom, she was comfortable with the Bethany environment and her future teammates to choose the Bison over Waynesburg and Muskingum.  

In her third season of action, Garrison has already found her name littered throughout the Bethany record books. She has the top two single-game three-point performances, making 10 three's last season against Franciscan and nine three-pointers against PSU-New Kensington in her freshman season.  

Garrison also lays claim to the top two three-point seasons, making 78 last season and 75 as a freshman. And yes, she is currently on pace to break the record for a third season. With 177 career three-pointers, the guard is tied for third place all-time, needing 28 three-pointers to become the program's top three-point shooter.  

Listed as a senior, she has already made the decision that Bethany fans and Presidents' Athletic Conference teams will get to witness the Lindsey Garrison experience next season as well.   

This article was written by Assistant Athletic Director for Communications, Jayson Ameer Rasheed. If you believe that there are mistakes in information-- or have a separate thought relating to the event in the article-- please email ameer.rasheed@bethanywv.edu for any corrections/comments.