"With Keisharna, I never have to second-guess anything I do around her, in terms of when we talk about things or humor or just being comfortable," said Shanique Lucas, senior exercise science major and guard for Union's women's basketball team. "No second-guessing any of that, which I love."
 
Shanique and her sister Keisharna Lucas, a sophomore psychology major and forward on the basketball team, have gotten to spend the last two years together at Union. Keisharna redshirted her freshman season, so the 2022-2023 season will be her first on the court as a Lady Bulldog.
 
Shanique has had an impressive run during her time at Union, being named GSC freshman of the week five times in the 2019-2020 season, making the GSC Honor Roll each year from 2020 to 2022, and earning GSC All-Tournament and Academic All-GSC in both 2021 and 2022. She also has 1,329 career points and 394 career rebounds so far.
 
Although the two sisters have been together at Union since fall 2021, it wasn't always certain that this would be the case. When Keisharna was first thinking through her decision, she didn't want to go to the same school as Shanique.
 
"Initially, I didn't want to go here just because Shanique was here," Keisharna said. "I was like, 'Definitely not going there.' But then I talked to Coach Campbell, and then I thought about it more, and I was like, 'Oh, actually, going to school with her would be kind of fun.'"
 
Shanique wanted her sister to come to Union, but she tried to be unbiased as Keisharna weighed her options. It was also hard because during the Covid summer of 2020, Shanique didn't get to go home to Thailand and instead had to help her sister by talking with her over the phone.
 
"I just tried to make it clear that it was obviously never about what I wanted but what she wanted and what she thought was best," Shanique said.
 
Ultimately, Keisharna did decide that Union was the best fit for her. This decision has allowed the two sisters to play together once again after being on the same team for four years in high school and practicing together basically their whole lives. It has also given them the chance to learn things about each other that they may not have been able to otherwise.
 
"I'd say with Shanique, after being away from her for two years, [I've seen] how intentional she is with people and relationships she has," Keisharna said.
 
Shanique sees that Keisharna is an observer, someone that pays attention to small details and things other people wouldn't necessarily notice.
 
"People always say that college is a place where you discover who you are and that kind of thing," Shanique said, "and so I'm able to see just different characteristics of her that I hadn't, I guess, noticed as much when we were in high school together. And I'd say that would be one of them, just how observant she is of the things around her."
 
It's definitely rare to get to play with your sister in college, but it also a blessing. Shanique and Keisharna are able to be there for each other in all aspects of life, in the good and the bad, on and off the court.
 
"When I see her struggle, on and off the floor, it's harder just because I can see it firsthand," Shanique. "I don't want to ever see her struggle."
 
Shanique and Keisharna definitely have an unmistakable connection. They always want the best for each other. They know each other's strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies, perhaps better than anyone else because they have been playing together for so long and have been sisters for even longer. They love to cheer each other on and make plays together. They're extremely competitive, but at the end of the day, they are sisters, connected with an unbreakable bond.
 
"I just love the dynamic we have and that I have my best friend at college with me," Shanique said.