As Jacksonville University nears the end of the regular season, Kayla Gordon’s contributions in part have the Dolphins ranked second in the Atlantic Sun Conference with a 19-7 overall record. 

While Jacksonville University is clicking as a team, Gordon, a Meridian alumna, has also flourished individually. 

With her second rebound of the second half in Jacksonville’s Feb. 12 win against Lipscomb, Gordon became the school’s all-time rebounds leader with 961 (539 defensive, 422 offensive).

“It means a lot, because we I came in as a freshman, if someone would have told me that I would have become the all-time leading rebounder, I would have told them to stop lying,” said Gordon, who posted 21 points and 14 rebounds against Lipscomb. “Looking back, I would have thought it would have been impossible, but now that I’ve accomplished it, I’m very proud of myself and very proud of everyone who played a part in it.”

Gordon is averaging 11.7 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game this season and boasts 15 double-double efforts. Her 9.5 boards per contest are tops in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Gordon selected Jacksonville University over South Alabama, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi and Tulane, and she enjoyed instant success as she was named Atlantic Sun Conference Freshman of the Year following the 2014-15 season.

Gordon, a senior, said she committed to becoming a rebounding-minded player during her time at Meridian and found a way to perfect it over her four-year career. When she graduated from Meridian in 2014, she had compiled 1,212 points and 800 rebounds. 

“Really, coming up in high school, it was kind of guard-oriented,” Gordon said. “Our team was really focused on guards because we had good guards. So sometimes they kind of struggled getting the ball inside to the post, either because they just weren’t confident or because they just thought it wasn’t a good pass.”

So Gordon found other ways to establish a dominant presence. Her success since shows the decision was the right one.

“I decided that I wasn’t going to let anyone else control how many points I scored,” Gordon said. “I found a way to get on the board and stop people having to pass me the ball. And I just kind of decided to make a way for myself — so I felt that offensive rebounding was going to be the way I could get on the board and help my teammates out. Once I committed to being an offensive rebounder and being relentless, everything else just fell into place.”