The night before Jada Brown was supposed to hit the court in a collegiate game for the second time in two years, she woke up in the early morning and remained awake.

"I woke up about 3:30 in the morning and I couldn't get back to sleep," said Brown. "I don't know if it was just something I felt."

She would later find out that the eerie feeling she couldn't shake was a subliminal message as her mother was passing away of a brain aneurism that caused a seizure. On October 27, 2013, Debra Brown was gone suddenly at the age of 50.

With the team preparing to play Ohio University in a scrimmage, Brown's brother and boyfriend drove to Athens, and her father delivered the heartbreaking news via a phone call. 

"It was a terrible ride back," said Brown. "Three hours back to Wilmington, and another hour back to Cincinnati."

It was just another difficult hurdle the guard would have to overcome if she was going to end her college career on a high note. The news came a little over a month after Brown was finally medically cleared to resume her playing career.

She tore her ACL during opening gym prior to her sophomore season, and missed all of her junior season still working to regain her muscle strength in her leg. During her sophomore season, the already small Brown lost 15 pounds "because I was depressed about not being able to play."

Those were the only two years of her life she was forced to miss.

"When I got cleared, finally, because I had went back and forth about 10 times thinking I was going to get cleared, I cried," said Brown. "Being able to condition and knowing I could play, was good enough for me. I didn't want to rush back into it and hurt myself."

It was moment that almost didn't happen.

"Last year (I thought about quitting) when I couldn't play," said Brown. "I cried numerous times in practice because I couldn't play. I wasn't really progressing. I just probably wanted to quit at that time, but I wanted to come back. I knew college was my last step in basketball, and I have been playing since the third grade. I know I had four years, and two of them - I sat out. It hurt a lot."

Nearly three months following her mother's death, Brown was on the court for her greatest WC moment. She hit three three-pointers, including two down the stretch as Mount Union was making a charge. Brown finished with a career-high 12 points and the WC senior class had secured their first win over the Purple Raiders in their careers.

"I was just thinking of her the whole game, and I was glad we won because we have never beaten Mount Union in my career," said Brown. "I knew I had to step up to help Haley out, and I didn't work hard for two years just to sit. I had to give it my all every time I stepped on the court. There were a lot of emotions because Haley was in foul trouble, so I had to play well, and limit turnovers."

Since earning a spot in the rotation, she has scored in eight of the 10 games. She is shooting 41.7 percent from the field, including 53.3 percent from behind the three-point line.

Despite being surrounded by family and friends, including many on the WC campus, it's been a struggle emotionally for Brown.

"It's been hard because everybody, we are all girls, has a closeness with their mother," she said. "Everybody always talking about their mom, or calling their mom. Just being able to talk to their parents. Just to hear them say 'mom', and know they can get a response back, is very hard. Our first home game was really hard, and I knew the seat next to (my father) was missing. In the locker room, we always have a moment of silence, and I take that moment to talk to her. I tell her that every moment on the court, I am going to play for her."

Brown and the rest of the senior class will have one last opportunity to play a regular season game as Wilmington hosts John Carroll 3 p.m. Saturday.