BALOGUN Elizabeth

General
LOSS OF MOTHER
Her mother Justina died of breast cancer when Elizabeth was age 12. She says that before her mother's death, she took on greater responsibility in the family household and dropped out of school for the two years that followed her mother's diagnosis. "I had to be the big sister, I had to be the mother, I had to be the little sister. I had to be everything at that moment. I had to learn fast. I had to learn how to wash the dishes, do a little bit of cooking, run the errands. I had to learn how to stand next to my mum and answer her needs. That made me love basketball even more. My mum could fight through that, but I'm on the court, and I'm just tired? I need to push myself." (espn.com, 26 Nov 2019)

STUDIES OVERSEAS
At age 13, her father sent her to finish high school in Chattanooga, TN, United States of America, where her older brother was already a student. She says she struggled with the move at first. "I cried every day because I wanted to go back home so bad." After high school she studied and played basketball at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta for a year, before transferring to the University of Louisville. "If I could leave Nigeria when I was 13, I could definitely cope anywhere." (espn.com, 26 Nov 2019; chattanoogan.com, 11 Apr 2018)