MILWAUKEE — Deja Rivers had just .5 seconds to make history — and she did.
The Mount Mary University senior hit a buzzer-beater to win the game on Senior Night, capping a college career marked by perseverance through profound personal loss.
Mount Mary was down by two to Calumet with just .5 seconds on the clock, inbounding from the baseline, when Rivers caught the ball, turned, and threw it up as time expired.
"I caught the ball from my teammate. Just turned around and I just threw it up. It went in. I was looking for the ref for approval to say it counted. Once he counted it, I was going crazy," Rivers said.
Head coach Joshua Steffan said his reaction was one of disbelief.
"I didn't really react at all. I put my hands up a little bit like did the field goal thing just to make sure that the refs counted it, and they did, and they ran off, so that was good. Then it was like did that really just happen? I was just like I guess this was meant to be today," Steffan said.
Watch: Mount Mary senior hits buzzer-beater on Senior Night
The moment has already been immortalized at Mount Mary. The school placed a QR code on the court at the exact spot where the ball left Rivers' hands. Anyone can scan it to watch a video replay of the shot.
But for Rivers, the moment carries a weight far greater than a game-winner.
"The summer leading up to sophomore year, I ended up losing my dad. I still played. I should have taken that break, so I still played. And then, after that season, I ended up losing my mom the next summer. I still should have taken a break, but I didn't. Just been like ups and downs all the time, but I still push through," Rivers said.
Steffan said Rivers' impact on the program goes well beyond basketball.
"She has stayed with us through a lot of adversity and really seen the growth of our program to zero wins the year before she got here to 12 wins her second year, which was the most in school history. I can't say enough good things about her and just the positive impact that she has had on our program as a player, yes, but just as much as a person," Steffan said.
Rivers' basketball career is not over. She plans to pursue a career as a basketball coach, saying Steffan had a huge impact on her life and she wants to give back to the next generation.
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