Forward Claire Harvey has endured her share of adversity on the basketball court. But instead of getting down on herself, she's pushed past the setbacks thrown her way on route to a strong career with the Bisons.

The product of Fort Richmond Collegiate started playing the sport when she was ten years old, as she wanted to be like her dad Malcolm, who played at Red River College and had gotten into coaching after his athletic career was over.

Harvey picked the game up well, making the U15 provincial team in 2010, where she averaged 24 minutes at nationals. But just when she was starting to gain more steam, tragedy struck as the 6'0" post tore her ACL while changing direction to defend an opponent during a game in grade ten.

"I was very nervous and I was scared. And at the time, basketball was a big part of my life, so when I found out it was my ACL, I felt like my world came crashing down and I was very sad for a while," she says.

"But I tried my best to stay around the sport. It happened in the middle of the season, so I tried to stay with my team and support them through finishing out the rest of the season."

Harvey had to wait six months for her ACL surgery and then went through the rehab process after, which kept her out for her grade 11 season as well. But again, she stuck around the team and provided aid when needed.

"I knew if I wanted to stay a part of basketball, and if I wanted to get that extra step ahead when I came back, that I needed to be involved in basketball and thinking about it, so that when I actually go out and play, that I can do what I've been thinking about for the past 6-7 months."

After cheering on her squad for over a year-and-a-half, Harvey returned to the court for her senior season. She picked up right where she left off prior to the injury, averaging a double-double per game with 20 points and 11 rebounds while also being named a league all-star.

Harvey's play caught the eye of Michele Sung and then co-head coach Randy Kusano, who brought her into the fold for the 2013-14 season. She was quick to credit senior members of the team, such as Allison Balasko, Vanessa DeVries and Morgan Cross for helping to build an additional level of maturity in her game as a rookie.

"I needed to learn how to be a team player a bit more and learn how to focus on the things you can control, and I think [the fourth and fifth-years] really instilled that in me."

Harvey saw the floor a lot more in her second year, starting 12 contests while averaging 16 minutes per game. She got off to a strong start in her third year as well, starting the first 11 contests including putting up 19 and 22 points, respectively in an early January series against Victoria. But the following weekend against UBC, tragedy struck once more.

Harvey was going for a routine crossover when she fell and was in a lot of pain. She knew instantly that she'd torn her ACL once more, but this time it was the other knee. Her mental state was bleaker than the first time around however, as she had put in a lot more work and effort compared to the first injury.
 
Additionally, she had issues with scar tissue and dealt with a lot of pain during her recovery process, which kept her out for the entire 2016-17 season. But despite all of the frustration, she had a strong support system which kept her even-keel during the most difficult moments.

"Cal Botterill, the team sports psychologist, he really helped me a lot," Harvey says. "We would go out for breakfast once a month and we would just talk about how I was feeling and how I should approach my workouts from a mental standpoint, and that really helped me a lot, because even more than half the battle sometimes is mental."

Harvey returned refreshed and ready for the 2017-18 season, where she started all 20 regular season games, leading the conference in blocks with 39. The team also returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

"It was definitely a heart-warming feeling," she says of making the post-season.

"Just knowing how much work everyone has put in in the offseason and after practices, it's very rewarding to know that that work that we've put in for four or five years is finally paying off for everybody."

Now in her final year with Manitoba, Harvey is ready to finish her Bisons journey off in memorable fashion. Sung — who's in her fifth year as bench boss — has also enjoyed seeing the growth and development from the athletic front court player and emphasized keeping her confident in situations where she may have a mismatch on the floor.

"There's some teams in our league that just don't have the athleticism to match up in her position, and then there's games where she has to rein that in and be a total defensive stopper because [the other team] has a really good player at her position. It's been a fun journey with her that way," she said.

"She's a very fun, caring kid and I think she takes feedback very personably, which is awesome, but it also means that you do have to check in and keep her reminded that she is a very good player."