By: Hannah Lorusso
GoRhody.com Staff

Emma Squires is a graduate transfer who is now a part of the University of Rhode Island women's Division I basketball team. Her journey began at Richmond where she was on the women's basketball team for all four years. Unfortunately, her freshman year was the start of her troubles as she was injured for 10 weeks and was not sure why. She was unable to play as much as she wanted and searched for answers as to why she was suddenly suffering chronic injuries. As a result of her on-going injury she only played a few games her sophomore year at Richmond. She finally was diagnosed with Compartment Syndrome in her foot which is: A painful condition caused by pressure buildup from internal bleeding or swelling of tissues. She underwent surgery which involved a long six month recovery and, with the surgery, rehab, and COVID year she finally came back and began her comeback as she played in December of her junior year pain free.

Senior year at Richmond Squires was named captain of the team and she stated: "They wanted me to be that spark off the bench that season." She did in fact spark off the bench that year by playing in all 30 games for the Spiders and 22 of those games she came off the bench averaging 20.9 minutes per game and ultimately earning the Atlantic 10 Sixth Woman of the Year. She also poured in 20+ points in four games for the Spiders her senior year. As she played her first full year after the surgery she began to gain more trust and confidence in herself as a basketball player. Squires said, "The pain was finally gone and I could play with no fear of injury."

The injury ultimately shaped Squires into the person and athlete she is today because she persevered through the situation, and came back a stronger athlete and person on the other side. She was prepared to transfer to another program after her outstanding performance senior year at Richmond. Squires loved the culture, and coaching staff at URI for the women's basketball team and she knew this was the perfect place for her. 

This year Squires was voted captain of the URI women's basketball team and she has guided the underclassmen through ups and downs, and emphasized that an injury does not define you, it's all about the comeback. She has shown her true talent in every single game this season by playing for 27 minutes against St. Joes, scoring 15 points against Coppin State, and playing in every game in the regular season with a total of 494 minutes. Her strength at games is shown through her strong offensive strategies and facilitating the offense. 

Squires stated: "You always end up where you are meant to be and, whatever journey you are on, it always brings you where you are meant to be."

 

Check out more of Hannah's work:

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