New River Valley Times

Virginia Tech women’s basketball player out for blood

When it comes to basketball, Ashley Owusu never has been afraid to roll up her sleeves and get to work.

But these days, the Virginia Tech women’s basketball standout is encouraging teammates, students, friends, and those in the local community to roll up their sleeves for a different and more important reason.

Owusu serves as an ambassador for the American Red Cross, an organization primarily known for collecting blood to be used in medical facilities throughout the world. January is National Blood Donation Month, and Owusu is using her platform as a college athlete by sharing her story in a video promoting the importance of giving blood.

“I've always known what the Red Cross was about — donating blood — but I never really knew how much of an impact blood donors can have and how important it is,” Owusu said. “So I thought it was pretty cool, especially with the story.”

“The story” took place last year when Owusu competed as a women’s basketball player at the University of Maryland before transferring to Virginia Tech. Toward the end of the season, she felt poorly and extremely fatigued.

Maryland participated in the NCAA Women’s Tournament last March and played Stanford in a Sweet 16 matchup in Spokane, Washington. The team left several days in advance of the game, and while there, Owusu’s symptoms grew worse.

“I started feeling sick, was sleeping a lot, wasn't really eating, and then after we lost to Stanford, I got home, and I was feeling a lot worse, Owusu said. “I was super sick, had a temperature, wasn’t eating and my throat was swollen, and my parents took me to the hospital.”

Original source can be found here