Troy University senior forward Fortuna Ngnawo has taken on a unique role this season, combining her basketball skills with storytelling through a blog chronicling the experiences of her teammates. The 6-foot player from Bafoussam City, Cameroon, started the blog as part of a class project and said, “Apart from basketball, I don’t do much on campus, so I was like, ‘OK, I’ll write a blog about the team … like the insides of the team, because a lot of people don’t get to see what goes on behind the scenes; they only see game days.’ That was my first time to have a platform like that and I really enjoyed it.”
Ngnawo has made significant contributions to the Troy Trojans women’s basketball team this season by regularly recording double-doubles in points and rebounds and becoming an effective shot-blocker. She explained her approach: “It’s all about timing. I always try to jump before the player even goes up, so by the time they go up, I’m already in the air and just get the ball.”
Head coach Chanda Rigby highlighted Ngnawo’s impact inside: “I used to think a rim protector had to be 6-2, 6-2 with big and long arms. Some of it is the timing and determination. She’s also determined not to get herself in foul trouble … she does pretty good with that. That’s important, too, because a lot of people that are physical inside are going to foul out a lot of the time, and that wouldn’t help.”
Ngnawo began playing basketball at age 12 in Cameroon after being invited by her school coach. She tried several sports but found success in basketball which became her route to playing in America. Her dream has been to play professionally: “My dream was always to get into the WNBA,” she said.
Her collegiate career started at Cochise College in Arizona where she earned NJCAA second team All-American honors as a freshman by averaging 13.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, she was named ACCAC Player of the Year and first team NJCAA All-American after averaging 16.9 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.
Rigby began recruiting Ngnawo after seeing her play at a junior college all-star event and maintained contact through established coaching relationships despite initial reluctance from Ngnawo. Rigby recalled: “We went after her and she did not show a lot of interest in us for a very long time… All of a sudden one day, she said, ‘Yeah, I’m signing with y’all.’ It was really close to signing day.” Ngnawo cited persistent outreach as key: “Since they were really interested in me, I thought maybe I can take a look into them… Coach Graf kept coming to Arizona and I appreciated that.”
Despite being slightly undersized for her position compared to typical post players recruited by Troy (“When we were looking for a post player to sign, we were looking for at least a 6-2, 6-3,” Rigby said), Ngnawo’s competitive nature stood out: “Her qualities and her competitiveness … the way she knew how to use her body and her determination … it superseded what we thought we wanted.”
Transitioning into Troy’s program presented challenges but allowed Ngnawo’s personality as an on-court leader to emerge this year. Rigby noted: “She’s more in her element this year because we need her every night to be great, and she loves that pressure that some people don’t want.”
Ngnawo credits previous coaching for developing toughness: “My coach (at Cochise) was very old-school… It was all about being physical and never backing down.” She is also known for using the backboard frequently when shooting: “When I started basketball…the backboard is always a money shot – you can’t go wrong using the backboard,” Ngnawo explained.
Coach Rigby praised this technique: “I’ve always believed in players using the backboard but she has taken it to another level… She knows how to kiss it off that backboard and drop it in there. It’s special.”
Beyond scoring ability, Ngnawo values rebounding highly: “With offensive rebounding comes scoring and with defensive rebounding comes a lot of possessions to score,” she said.
Rigby expressed confidence in Ngnawo’s versatility: “I don’t know an assignment we could give her that she wouldn’t be good at.” Off-court interests include video games such as Call of Duty or Monopoly as well as painting.
Summing up Ngnawo’s approach both on court and through writing about her team’s journey this season via troyballinladies.wordpress.com, Rigby stated: “She’s a true baller – a true competitor…she really wants to become her best and compete at the highest level.”
