Tori Davis - Heart of the Pack

Tori Davis picked up her phone after the Nevada women's basketball team had finished their final game in the Maui Classic on Dec. 18, 2022. She was expecting the usual postgame, supportive messages, but the news she received was far from usual.

Davis' life changed forever when a family friend offered their condolences about her grandmother who had passed away. Davis was in disbelief, as this message was the first time she heard the news.

"I had spoken to my grandma the night before we played the game," Davis said. "I was very confused because I had just talked to her."

After the game, Davis called her mom to get more information on the news. Davis' mother confirmed what Tori had heard.

Davis experienced a huge wave of shock and distress in the following days. The days following her grandmother's death were a blur. Davis mentally checked out and tried to navigate through the extreme grief she felt. Davis' grandmother had been a big part of raising her, making her passing that much more impactful for the point guard from Chicago.

Davis had a hard time grasping the fast pace of her situation. Because Davis and her teammates were midseason, the surprising news was a change of pace she was not prepared for.

"You can be talking to them one day, and then they could be gone literally the next day." Davis said.

The point guard took a brief leave of absence from the women's basketball team, missing the conference opener against San Jose State.

"I remember crying a lot, in my room screaming," Davis said. "I was just so in disbelief."

With a piece of Davis no longer there, the point guard strives to live in the way her grandmother wanted her to: Be the best person you can be. Ahead of her senior season at Nevada, Davis created a visual reminder to stay her course.

Paying tribute to her grandmother, Davis wrote two simple phrases on her game shoes. Her right shoe reads "R.I.P. Granny," and the left "#GRANNYSWORLD."

"She never got to watch me play in person," Davis said. "These shoes kind of just remind me why I do it and who I do it for."

Resilience was the most important lesson Davis' grandmother taught her. Davis embraced this, learning to never quit on herself.

"Eventually you'll win. Eventually, it'll be good, and even when it is good, keep going because it could be better, Davis said. "No matter what, keep going and never give up."

Now, in Davis's senior season with Nevada, she plays every game like it's her last.

"Tomorrow is never promised," Davis said. "I just want to make her proud watching down on me."

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