Despite coming off a season played with an injury, senior forward Makayla Coy has secured her name in the Texas Wesleyan University record book after soaring past the 1,000-point mark in her collegiate career.

"It's honestly surreal for me," Coy said. "Playing last season with a torn meniscus, getting surgery and going through rehab this summer, so I could be back here, it's just surreal to see that it finally paid off, and I reached one of the goals that I had for myself."

Following their postseason appearance, Coy found out that she had a torn meniscus. She was worried she wouldn't be able to come back as strong as before, but after physical therapy, she was ready for the 2022-23 season.

"I just trusted [my physical therapist]. He told me that he would get me back in time, and it would be fine," Coy said.

Coy got right back into the swing of things, scoring 22 points in the first game of the 2022-23 season, a season high. She followed that up by hitting season highs in almost every category, including 14 rebounds against John Brown University and 13 free throws made against Langston University.

Women's Basketball Head Coach Brenita Jackson said that Coy has been a consistent leader for the Lady Rams. She has grown and developed tremendously this season, Jackson said, stating how proud she was of Coy and her success.

"She just hit her 1,000 points, we've very proud of that — she's part of an elite group," Jackson said.

Hitting that mark, Coy became the 15th woman in Texas Wesleyan history to score 1,000 points. Something Coy said makes her feel honored.

"I feel really special and honored that I'm one of the handful of people that I get to leave a legacy here at Texas Wesleyan," Coy said.

Coy said not only her success, but the team's success, comes from the coaching staff — "the best coaching staff I've ever had."

The philosophies the coaches instilled in the Lady Rams has laid the foundation for building up the team — from not only working on technical skills, but also becoming better teammates and members of the community.

"Basketball is more than just dribbling — it's about helping each other out and being a good person in the community," she said. "I see that working and it being relayed on the court, and I'm seeing it in our success that we've had."

Coach Jackson has had a big impact on her team, which resulted in the Lady Rams meeting records the team hasn't seen since the early 1980s.

Coy said that after her first two seasons at TXWES, she considered transferring. But after Jackson stepped in as head coach and explained the vision she had for the program, she decided to give her a chance.

"It just stuck with me, and I was like, I want to stay. And so Coach Jackson is the one that got me here today," Coy said. "She was a breath of fresh air."

Coy said she is glad that Jackson saw her potential and pushes her to be better every single day.

"She knows how much greater I can be, than what I'm showing right now," Coy said. "She cares about us."

As a student athlete majoring in biology, Coy juggles playing basketball, studying for exams and completing her labs. She said that Jackson has played a huge part in her success in the classroom, from setting mandatory off days for homework, rest and everything else the players need, to planning the team's schedules, making it easier to schedule their academic work between practices and games.

"She really is amazing," Coy said. "By doing all of that and giving us the resources, it just makes it that much easier to not feel overwhelmed and get burnt out."

Coy is excited to finish out the season and continue leaving her legacy at Texas Wesleyan — one she didn't think would be possible to reach.

"I just can't believe it because I was on that team where we were 1-9," she said. "To go from that to now — we're breaking records and continuing to get better every day."

Catch Coy on the court by checking out the Lady Rams' schedule on ramsports.net.