University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Jomyra Mathis Ready To Be A Leader For @RaginCajunsWBB
8/27/2018 5:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LAFAYETTE – A situation of severe trial, leading to the creation of something new, better known as a crucible. The United States Marines calls the final 54 hours of boot camp the Crucible and it is a test to find out who is ready to be a Marine and who is not quite ready.
In college athletics the crucible for most athletes is their freshman year. Louisiana women's basketball sophomore Jomyra Mathis went through her own personal trials and tribulations during the 2017-18 season, Mathis' freshman year, but she came out on the other end refocused and motivated to learn from the season.
"I did not get to the play the number of minutes that I wanted to play last season," said Mathis. "Because as any athlete will tell you, they want to be on the court and play. I knew that I had to get tougher mentally, and after the spring semester came to an end, I reflected on the past season and really put in a lot of thought of what I had to do to get better for this upcoming season."
For Mathis that meant getting in the best shape she could get in, "I started running, hitting the weight room and got in the gym every single day to get better while I was home in New Orleans," said Mathis. And she has entered her sophomore season revitalized in her love for the game.
But without even realizing it, Mathis gained something else from the adversity she faced during her freshman season, she gained the ability to lead incoming players by sharing her own experiences.
"I am really looking forward to being there for the younger and newer women on the team in a leadership position to help them through the ups and downs of the season, since I went through it already myself," said Mathis. "You do not want someone to have to go through the rigors of the season alone, without someone there to motivate them to keep going and keep working, and knowing what it takes now, I can be there to help them through it."
That will be an important role on a 2018-19 Louisiana team that has no seniors, and only two juniors returning from last season's squad. Louisiana head coach Garry Brodhead added seven players to the team during the offseason, five of which are freshmen.
But Brodhead knows that there's a leader in the wings who has been through it and is ready to help the young players along through the season, "Going through what Jomyra went through last season and experiencing how tough it was for her, was important because now she has grown from it and it is obvious that she is in a better place for it," said Brodhead. "I think now she can help the other women on the team that have not been through the long season that we go through here by sharing the experiences she has been through."
Mathis' love for basketball was revitalized during the offseason, but it started on a fall day during her middle school days. Mathis, who played many sports as she grew up with track being her best, decided to sit down one day and flip on an Oklahoma women's basketball game, and that sparked a flame that has yet to be extinguished.
"Oklahoma was playing Vanderbilt," said Mathis. "And I noticed an Oklahoma player, named Aaryn Ellenberg, who's game I fell immediately in love with. After watching for a while, I felt that her game was a lot like my game and I realized right there that I wanted to be like her and play basketball at a high level."
But Mathis realized that she wanted to do more than just playing basketball, and that is where Louisiana came into play. Looking for a challenge and a way to set herself up for life after basketball, Mathis decided to take on another challenge, a petroleum engineering degree.
Fortunately for Mathis, Louisiana hangs its hat on its petroleum engineering program, and the choice to become a Ragin' Cajun was almost a match made in heaven. "I really did not have any interest in petroleum engineering until about my sophomore year in high school," said Mathis. "I was recruited into a dual enrollment program through my high school, and I was exposed to petroleum engineering.
"During the first day I realized that I had no idea what any of the stuff they had been showing was or what it did, and I began to question if I wanted to be there. But then I said to myself, why would I want to do something that I already know about, why not pursue something that I am not familiar with and somewhere where I can learn something new."
That mentality developed during Mathis' growing love for petroleum engineering, "I found myself starting to love the systems that were used, and I really fell in love with the idea that it was fun learning about new things," was the foundation for her drive to fight through her freshman crucible.
Mathis' offseason reflection allowed her to redevelop her love for the game and she realized that she needed to be in better shape and go into everyday working hard to earn the playing time she coveted. She went out and did that, and now is ready to tackle a new season, while helping any of her teammates that she sees struggling get through their own battles.
"We saw Jomyra come into the summer with a lot of maturity," said Brodhead. "She understood the importance of being in shape with the way that we play. And she came into the summer in the best shape I've seen her in and I think that is a key to improving as an individual both physically and mentally. It really is impressive to see someone grow like that and I think that the best is yet to come for Jomyra."
Leadership is developed through adversity and challenges. Mathis now has her own personal crucible under her belt, and because of that is ready to not only lead on the court but off the court as well.
In college athletics the crucible for most athletes is their freshman year. Louisiana women's basketball sophomore Jomyra Mathis went through her own personal trials and tribulations during the 2017-18 season, Mathis' freshman year, but she came out on the other end refocused and motivated to learn from the season.
"I did not get to the play the number of minutes that I wanted to play last season," said Mathis. "Because as any athlete will tell you, they want to be on the court and play. I knew that I had to get tougher mentally, and after the spring semester came to an end, I reflected on the past season and really put in a lot of thought of what I had to do to get better for this upcoming season."
For Mathis that meant getting in the best shape she could get in, "I started running, hitting the weight room and got in the gym every single day to get better while I was home in New Orleans," said Mathis. And she has entered her sophomore season revitalized in her love for the game.
But without even realizing it, Mathis gained something else from the adversity she faced during her freshman season, she gained the ability to lead incoming players by sharing her own experiences.
"I am really looking forward to being there for the younger and newer women on the team in a leadership position to help them through the ups and downs of the season, since I went through it already myself," said Mathis. "You do not want someone to have to go through the rigors of the season alone, without someone there to motivate them to keep going and keep working, and knowing what it takes now, I can be there to help them through it."
That will be an important role on a 2018-19 Louisiana team that has no seniors, and only two juniors returning from last season's squad. Louisiana head coach Garry Brodhead added seven players to the team during the offseason, five of which are freshmen.
But Brodhead knows that there's a leader in the wings who has been through it and is ready to help the young players along through the season, "Going through what Jomyra went through last season and experiencing how tough it was for her, was important because now she has grown from it and it is obvious that she is in a better place for it," said Brodhead. "I think now she can help the other women on the team that have not been through the long season that we go through here by sharing the experiences she has been through."
Mathis' love for basketball was revitalized during the offseason, but it started on a fall day during her middle school days. Mathis, who played many sports as she grew up with track being her best, decided to sit down one day and flip on an Oklahoma women's basketball game, and that sparked a flame that has yet to be extinguished.
"Oklahoma was playing Vanderbilt," said Mathis. "And I noticed an Oklahoma player, named Aaryn Ellenberg, who's game I fell immediately in love with. After watching for a while, I felt that her game was a lot like my game and I realized right there that I wanted to be like her and play basketball at a high level."
But Mathis realized that she wanted to do more than just playing basketball, and that is where Louisiana came into play. Looking for a challenge and a way to set herself up for life after basketball, Mathis decided to take on another challenge, a petroleum engineering degree.
Fortunately for Mathis, Louisiana hangs its hat on its petroleum engineering program, and the choice to become a Ragin' Cajun was almost a match made in heaven. "I really did not have any interest in petroleum engineering until about my sophomore year in high school," said Mathis. "I was recruited into a dual enrollment program through my high school, and I was exposed to petroleum engineering.
"During the first day I realized that I had no idea what any of the stuff they had been showing was or what it did, and I began to question if I wanted to be there. But then I said to myself, why would I want to do something that I already know about, why not pursue something that I am not familiar with and somewhere where I can learn something new."
That mentality developed during Mathis' growing love for petroleum engineering, "I found myself starting to love the systems that were used, and I really fell in love with the idea that it was fun learning about new things," was the foundation for her drive to fight through her freshman crucible.
Mathis' offseason reflection allowed her to redevelop her love for the game and she realized that she needed to be in better shape and go into everyday working hard to earn the playing time she coveted. She went out and did that, and now is ready to tackle a new season, while helping any of her teammates that she sees struggling get through their own battles.
"We saw Jomyra come into the summer with a lot of maturity," said Brodhead. "She understood the importance of being in shape with the way that we play. And she came into the summer in the best shape I've seen her in and I think that is a key to improving as an individual both physically and mentally. It really is impressive to see someone grow like that and I think that the best is yet to come for Jomyra."
Leadership is developed through adversity and challenges. Mathis now has her own personal crucible under her belt, and because of that is ready to not only lead on the court but off the court as well.
- #GEAUXCAJUNS -
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's BasketballGarry Brodhead Media Availability (Dec 14, 2025)
Monday, December 15
Garry Brodhead Media Availability (Dec 8, 2025)
Monday, December 08
Garry Brodhead Media Availability (Dec 2, 2025)
Tuesday, December 02
Garry Brodhead Media Availability (Dec 1, 2025)
Monday, December 01
