Cushing High School senior Emery Turner has played basketball since third grade and grew up with the sport’s influence.
“I became interested in the sport because of my family’s basketball experience,” she said. “I loved hearing all their basketball stories and loved watching the national championship Thunder play.”
Turner’s family continues to inspire her on and off the court.
“My family is my biggest motivation,” she said. “They always support me and encourage me.
I look to my parents as my role models. They are both hardworking, so caring, and true servants of the Lord. I aspire to be like them and hope to share the same characteristics.”
Cushing girls basketball coach Mason Baade can confirm that Turner does indeed possess these great qualities.
“Emery is one of the four seniors we have on our team this year. She unfortunately tore her ACL this summer. She has shown a very positive attitude during her recovery and her character is second to none,” said Baade. “As a teammate she has been there to cheer her team on and through the rough times she has worked super hard to be the player and student that she has become. She is also a very good role model on and off the court for her teammates.”
Turner is thankful for her teammates, who she calls her best friends.
“We are a tightly knit group and work through our challenges together,” she said. “Before a game I always pray with my teammates. The nervousness doesn’t completely go away but I am able to channel to improve my game and remember what really matters. We are not defined by the sport we play but by the Creator. Remembering this instills the confidence I need to play the game without fear.”
Outside of basketball, Turner is a captain on the cheer team, involved in student council and an aeronautics class. She is working to attain her private pilot license and helps with the children’s program at her local church. After high school she plans to attend Oklahoma State University and get a degree in aviation management while pursuing her interest in medicine.
