On the day she graduated from Meridian Community College, Norianna Haynes learned of news that would drastically change her life for the foreseeable future.

Haynes was a standout basketball player at Northeast Lauderdale High School and later helped lead the Lady Eagles to an NJCAA Region 23 Championship in during the 2011-12 season. At the time of her graduation from MCC, Haynes held scholarship offers from a number of Division 1 women’s college basketball programs.

But on her graduation day, she found out she was six months pregnant.

“I didn’t have any symptoms,” Haynes, 24, recalled. “I played basketball, and I didn’t feel it. The doctor told me that with me playing a lot, I was at high risk. I had to let the schools know. When I told certain schools, they kind of fell back and told me basically I couldn’t give (them my all) because of me being pregnant.”

The pregnancy sidelined Haynes for a year, and also prompted a number of Division 1 programs to alter the conditions of their scholarships. The once full-ride offers became partial offers. Haynes said the situation was difficult to accept at the time.

“If you play any sport, and then you’re sitting home not doing what you’re used to doing every day, you kind of get into a depressed state,” she said. “And then, with it being my first child, I was kind of depressed about it. But my mom always told me to overlook the odds, so that’s what I did. I pushed forward.”

While a number of schools altered their scholarship offers, South Carolina State upheld its offer and welcomed Haynes in spring of 2014. The distance, however, created a longing for home and her daughter, Va’Niya Nicole, and Haynes returned to Mississippi to attend Alcorn State, which offered her a full scholarship.

“I did leave (Va’Niya Nicole) for four months to go to South Carolina, so when Alcorn State offered the full scholarship — I didn’t have to pay for anything — that made me feel like I was at home,” Haynes said. “For one, you can’t trust everyone to watch your kid. And with me being able to bring my child to practice with me, and have the managers and other people watch her while I’m there and I can see her, that really made me feel good.”

As Alcorn State looked out for Haynes, she made sure to reciprocate. Even after missing 10 games her first season at the school, Haynes pulled together a dominant 2014-15 season in which she averaged 15.1 points per game. That year, she was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s Newcomer of the Year, and landed on the SWAC’s Second Team All-American list.

The forward credited the explosive season, in part, to her absence from the sport.

“I missed the game because I love the game of basketball, but that year off, that really gave me a lot of time to think,” she said. “I was able to be with my family. During basketball season, I’m never home. So that year off, I was able to think about stuff, spend time with my family and do stuff to rekindle the fire with my people”

Her first season at Alcorn State wasn’t an aberration. This past May, in her senior season, Haynes was named the SWAC Player of the Year, and last week she was named the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athlete of the Year.

Haynes, who will sign a contract to play professional basketball in either Portugal or Puerto Rico within the next few days, said while her road to success wasn’t ideal, it was part of a larger plan.

“You just have to face adversity,” Haynes, who graduated from Alcorn State with a degree in education, said. “Plenty of things will be put in your way to knock you down. You’re going to have negative people, you’re going to have positive people. I have a praying family — prayer works.”