Ferrum College's Tanisha Durham sometimes refers to basketball as her "calm-down medicine."

Her father, Ronald Durham, introduced her to the game as a child.

"Watching the guys on the playground and watching greats like Michael Jordan on television forced me into loving the game," Durham said.

But the game has done much more than help the fifth-year senior settle when she feels shaky. It has helped her achieve her dreams even under the bleakest of circumstances.

Five years ago, just as she was poised to become the first person in her family to graduate from high school, tragedy struck when Durham witnessed her mother Dorothy stab her father after the two got in an argument. Tanisha, who was in the room at the time of the stabbing, placed the 911 emergency call.

Hours later, Ronald Durham died. Dorothy Durham remains in prison for the crime.

Looking back, Durham said, is painful.

"I wish my father were still here," she said, "but I know that's not part of reality. So I try to think positive."

As tragic as the murder of her father was, the road had never been a smooth one for Durham.

Her parents abused drugs and alcohol. Durham, a rebellious teen, had disciplinary problems. She even spent part of her sophomore year of high school in an alternative school after getting into a fight.

But then Durham began getting her life together with the support of Ruth Wilkinson, her high-school gym teacher and freshman basketball coach. In the summer after her sophomore year, Durham moved into Wilkinson's home and eventually Wilkinson became her legal guardian.

"Ruth gave me a home, guidance and a chance. She's played a huge role in molding me into who I am today with her discipline and her love and guidance," Durham said.

It was after the stint in the alternative school that Durham began thinking of attending college.

"I didn't even think about college in my freshman and sophomore year," she said. "When I was placed at the alternative school I just came to the reality that I didn't want to be at the 'dumb' school. I wanted to be at the school where everyone was gaining knowledge so I could increase my knowledge and do something with my life."

Durham said about a month after her father's death, she realized it was important for her to graduate from high school and proceed with plans to attend college at Ferrum.

"I knew my father would have wanted me to go and he would have been proud, so he was my inspiration," she said.

Another pillar of support for Durham was Ferrum head women's basketball coach Donna Doonan.

"She's a great coach, a great leader and a great person," Durham said. "When my father died she came and checked on me, called me and pursued me as a person, not just as an athlete. She also gave me the opportunity to live my dreams through college basketball."

Doonan describes Durham as hardworking, disciplined and the epitome of the Division III student-athlete. Doonan has watched Durham grow over her five years at Ferrum.

"The anger has left and she has become at peace with herself through the years," Doonan said. "I think she's grown a lot emotionally in trusting her teammates, as well as in her relationships with her peers, professors and coaches."

Doonan said Durham's never-give-up attitude and competitive spirit have rubbed off on the team and taught them that anybody can make it.

"She's become our leader," the veteran coach said. "They see her as a success story. If she can do it, others can, too. She's seized the opportunity and made something of it."

When the fifth-year senior jogs off the court for the last time this season, she will do so as the all-time leading scorer in Ferrum women's basketball history. In a couple of months, when Durham graduates with a degree in psychology, she will become the first person in her family to earn a college diploma.

Durham's immediate postgraduate plans include perhaps playing basketball overseas. Then she is looking forward to spending her time and energies helping youth.