She had to redshirt last season due to an ACL tear over the summer.
She then watched her team’s national tournament run end due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She, however, just wrapped up a successful season with career highs in points, assists and rebounds per game and field goal and 3-point field goal percentages, earned first-team all-Crossroads League honors for the first time and topped it off being named to the NAIA All-American third team.
Seymour native Lauren James became the 18th Taylor University women’s basketball player to earn the prestigious honor. Her selection marks the sixth-straight year Taylor has been represented on the NAIA All-American teams, and she’s the fourth Trojan to be named under coach Jody Martinez.
The All-American list consisted of 77 student-athletes with 12 spots on each of the first, second and third teams and 41 on the honorable mention list.
“That award meant so much to me, it’s hard to put into words,” said James, a 2017 Seymour High School graduate. “As soon as I found out, I called my parents (Mike and Karen James) because they have played a huge role in the player and person I am today. To be recognized nationally is a huge honor, and it’s a credit to all who have been in my corner my whole basketball career.”
Martinez said the 5-foot-7 junior excelled in her role as the Trojans point guard, leading to the conference and national accolades.
“Her teammates do an outstanding job of getting her the ball as much as possible, and LJ was able to make it the best for herself,” he said. “LJ doesn’t get any of these recognitions if it wasn’t for her new role on the team and for her teammates.”
Just like any other year when his players get recognition, Martinez said he considers it a team award.
“I don’t make any big deal about individual accolades,” he said. “I am happy for LJ and what she has accomplished, but she doesn’t get these recognition and awards if our team would have finished 7-19 or have any other losing record.”
This past winter, the Trojans finished with a 19-7 record, including 14 wins at Odle Arena on the Taylor campus in Upland and an 11-5 mark in Crossroads League play.
James finished in double figures in 19 games, including seven 20-point performances. She scored a career-high 32 points against Goshen on Nov. 24 — her birthday — shooting 12 of 18 from the field and 5 of 9 from beyond the arc.
On the season, she averaged 15.6 points, 4.6 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game, shot 47.7% from the field and was 47.3% from 3-point range — all career bests.
Along with leading the Trojans in scoring and assists, James was ranked fourth in the NAIA in total 3-point field goals made (87), seventh in 3-point field goals made per game (3.3) and eighth in 3-point field goal percentage and total assists (120).
“I became a different player and person after my injury, and I think that showed in my game this year,” she said. “Those statistics didn’t just happen. They are products of months and even years of hard work coming together. Every game, I tried to play the best I could and help my team get a win. Those stats are a credit to my teammates and coaches, as well. I couldn’t do it alone.”
With the conference honors, James was the only Taylor player named to the first team, while Madisyn Fischer made the second team, Kayla Kirtley earned honorable mention and Taylor Westgate was voted to the all-freshman team.
“The Crossroads League is always so competitive, so to be named to the first team is a huge honor,” said James, who was conference Player of the Week three times. “It is also a credit to my team because that award represents team success, as well. I was happy to see my teammates excel and earn league honors. I thought our team’s postseason awards were well-deserved.”
James said she was well into rehabilitation for her injury when Taylor reached postseason play in 2020.
On March 11, the No. 7 and second-seeded Trojans edged seventh-seeded Union 68-66 in the opening round of the national tournament in Sioux City, Iowa.
That advanced them to the Round of 16 to face No. 9 and third-seeded Indiana Tech on March 13. The day before, though, the NAIA announced the cancellation of all remaining winter championship events because of concerns with the pandemic.
Taylor tallied 30 wins for the second-straight year, including winning a national tournament opening game for the third year in a row. Its 30-4 mark was the best record in school history.
James continued rehab at Optimum Performance Sports in Fort Wayne throughout the spring and summer, which included both basketball and performance workouts. She was cleared to return to full contact May 5, 2020.
At the start of the 2020-21 season in November, she led her team in scoring in the first two games.
“Being back on the court and staying healthy was just a huge answer to prayer,” she said. “I had so much fun playing this year with my team. Every game, we tried to perform the best we could and live with the results. We had a lot of success this year. We were just thankful that we were able to have a season. I appreciate every moment I’m able to be on the court.”
Martinez said James was an inspiration to the team as she sat out to rehab her knee, and he had her involved as much as possible in practice drills and interaction with players on the bench during the season.
Sitting out last season, he said, was motivation for James going into this past season.
“We were 30-4 last season without LJ, and I can only imagine that maybe we could have been undefeated if LJ was healthy for the year,” Martinez said. “However, she was able to impact in a ‘coaching’ way as a teammate to inspire and motivate her teammates. If there was a Comeback Player of the Year in our league, I truly believe LJ would have won that type of award.”
Martinez started five seniors on the 30-4 team, so having James back was only going to help the Trojans be competitive with a very young team, he said.
“Her role was moved from shooting guard to the point guard spot, and it paid off for her this season being named first team all-Crossroads League and third-team All-American,” he said. “Even though we didn’t make it to nationals this season, we did finish the season at 19-7 and third in the conference. With 11 returners coming back in the fall of 2021, our future looks really good as LJ is returning to play one more season.”
James said her end-of-season awards are great motivation to work extremely hard this offseason to continue the individual and team success in the 2021-22 season.
“I always have high expectations for myself and want to perform to the best of my abilities,” she said. “I know my teammates and I are not satisfied with how we performed this season and are motivated to be better next year.”
In her final season, Martinez said James needs to improve her lateral defensive speed to be able to guard one-on-one better and get more explosive on her first step when making one-on-one moves so she can get into the paint to create more opportunities for her teammates.
“As LJ gets stronger in the offseason, then our team will get stronger,” Martinez said. “I am excited that LJ is returning and hopefully make an impact on and off the court for our program.”
If anyone experiences any type of setback, including an injury like James, she said her advice is to trust God and work as hard as possible.
“I want others to know that a severe injury doesn’t have to be the end and that God can use the experience to facilitate our spiritual growth as we trust in him,” she said.
“To come back from an injury like mine is a marathon, not a sprint, so patience is key,” she said. “I wanted to be a model of what it looks like to work hard and keep a positive attitude through adversity. I wanted to be a success story. I am incredibly thankful for the support system I had around me throughout the whole process. I couldn’t have done it alone.”
Academically, James is double-majoring in mathematics and computer science and minoring in data science. After graduation, she hopes to begin a career in data analytics, particularly for a sports organization.