Sandra Ngoie, senior forward, has traveled farther than most, for her love of basketball, quite literally.
Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Ngoie’s playing career has taken her across Europe, the East Coast, and Emporia State.
“It’s obvious she’s played a lot of basketball already in her lifetime,” said Jory Collins, Emporia State women’s basketball coach. “She looks like she was born to play the game.”
In her early life, Ngoie was more invested in other sports.
“I played handball first and then soccer, but soccer was too much running so I quit that,” Ngoie said. “One day I was in the grocery store with my mom and we saw this flyer that said ‘Is your daughter tall? Come play basketball!’ so we went just to check it out. I wasn’t very good at first, but I learned that I loved to play.”
Ngoie’s passion for the game allowed her to develop her skills quickly. Ngoie played basketball for four years at the prestigious Fryshusets Gymnasium, a large independent school in Stockholm.
Ngoie was invited to represent Sweden’s U18 team in the FIBA European Championships in 2009 and went home with a bronze medal.
In 2012, she enrolled in Georgia Tech University.
“I just didn’t like it there at all,” Ngoie said. “I thought I was done with America after Georgia Tech. honestly, and I went back to Sweden for a while.”
Although discouraged, Ngoie did not let her aspirations of playing in the United States fade away.
“One of the coaches I liked from (Georgia Tech), Chris Lewis, got a job at George Mason and convinced me to come back,” Ngoie said.
After sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer rules, Ngoie began playing for the Patriots. At the end of the 2014-15 season, Ngoie sat seventh on George Mason’s All-Time three-point list with 131 made shots from beyond the arc.
Ngoie’s playing career would again face obstacles that Chris Lewis, former ESU graduate, helped her navigate.
“I’m friends with Coach Lewis and he talked to me about her and said that her Division I clock was close to running out, but she still had a possible year of eligibility left,” Collins said. “It made sense for her to come here.”
According to her teammates and coaches, Ngoie could not have made a better choice.
“It took us only about five minutes to get acquainted with each other,” said Kathryn Flott, junior forward. “Sandy is hardworking, outgoing, a fun person to be around, and everyone really gets along with her very well.”
In addition to fitting in with her teammates, Ngoie has filled a valuable spot for the Hornets. The senior forward is second on the team in scoring with 12.4 points per game and has started in 24 of 26 contests.
At the end of the Lady Hornets season, Sandra knows that she will again be searching for ways to continue her basketball career, but that does not worry her.
“I guess we’ll just see where it takes me again,” Ngoie said.