Jasmine Bendolph's college basketball career got off to a bit of a rocky start.
The former Davidson High standout, Alabama's Class 6A player of the year as a senior in 2008, started her first six games as a freshman at Louisiana Tech, then lost her starting job and spent the rest of the season as a backup.
"They told me I wasn't aggressive enough," she said.
Bendolph also began suffering debilitating stomach cramps and was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.
"It makes me have bad stomach cramps and have to use the restroom," Bendolph said. "It makes me fatigued and light-headed. ... Sometimes when I have a flare-up, it can last for two whole months."
Bendolph regulates her diet and takes more than a dozen pills a day to manage her condition, which still limits her activity at times. Although she has started all 31 of the Lady Techsters' games this season, an attack in December forced coaches to curtail her minutes sharply in several games.
Bendolph said she has benefited greatly from the guidance of Louisiana Tech coach Teresa Weatherspoon, a two-time All-American point guard for the Lady Techsters, a member of the 1988 Olympic gold-medal team and a four-time WNBA all-star.
"She's not easy. She expects a lot out of you," said Bendolph, who leads the Lady Techsters in assists (119) and in 3-point shooting percentage (.417). She averages 7.7 points.
Bendolph, always a pass-first, shoot-second point guard, said Weatherspoon encourages her to shoot more. She took that advice to heart in the waning seconds of the WAC tournament championship game against Fresno State, draining an 18-foot jumper with 34 seconds to play to put her team ahead for good in a 68-66 victory.
"We were running a play set up for Adrienne Johnson, but I guess she forgot because we came out of the timeout and she went the opposite way," Bendolph said. "I couldn't drive, so I just pulled up for a jump shot. Good thing we scored, because (Weatherspoon) would have chewed us out."
Bendolph's shot sent the Lady Techsters (23-8) to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006, setting up a first-round game today at Florida State.