DeKALB — Cassidy Glenn, women’s basketball redshirt senior forward, had a mental breakthrough in the midst of a game on Dec. 13, 2015 against Illinois State University.

Glenn was hesitant at the beginning of the game and passed on taking a couple of shots, and Head Coach Lisa Carlsen took notice.

During a timeout in the second quarter, Carlsen motioned for Glenn—a junior at the time—to come over to the side. Glenn, walking with her head down, assumed she was going to get yelled at for doing something wrong, but Carlsen’s reaction was the opposite. Carlsen put her hands on Glenn’s shoulders, looked her in the eyes and in a motivational tone said to “be aggressive,” and “don’t be afraid to shoot the ball.”

It was a turning point for Glenn. Carlsen’s words lifted a weight off of her shoulders, and she started to feel more confident in the way she played because the coaching staff saw something in her that she hadn’t seen in herself yet. Glenn came off the bench to score 12 points in 24 minutes that game. She realized there was more she could bring to the team that she hadn’t until that point.

Carlsen said Glenn is a talented and gifted athlete with a great skill set but doesn’t always believe or know how good she can be.

“When she’s locked in, she’s a tough match-up for anybody because she can do so many different things,” Carlsen said. “Sometimes, she doesn’t really realize how good she can be during the course of a game or during the course of her career. She’s got that figured out now, but it’s just mental with her.”

Glenn came to NIU in 2013 as a transfer from Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina. She redshirted the 2013-14 season and made her NIU debut on Nov. 14, 2014 against Illinois State.

However, Glenn briefly left the team in December 2014 for personal reasons. Glenn was diagnosed with chondromalacia, damage to the cartilage under the kneecap which can cause the bones to rub together, in the summer of 2014.

Glenn said leaving the team was one of the hardest decisions she’s ever had to make in her life, but it got to the point where practices were too physically hard for her.

Glenn said she knew if she continued with the team, she wouldn’t have been able to make it through the entire year, but leaving was difficult because she lived with teammates and was still around the team.

“I just missed being a part of a team,” Glenn said. “I missed something that had been a part of my life since I was 10 years old. It felt like a part of me was missing. It was a tough time. I got through it, so that’s all that matters.”

Glenn returned to the team in July 2015 after Carlsen was hired in June of the same year.

Carlsen said there was no question Glenn would be allowed to return to the team when Glenn approached Carlsen about returning.

“There was some things that she had to [do to] kind of prove herself again and things like that,” Carlsen said. “But from the beginning, she took those steps that made me feel like she was serious about coming back and really trying to finish out her career on a strong note.”

Glenn credits Carlsen and the rest of the coaching staff for helping her confidence in basketball.

Now a senior playing in the final season of her Huskie career, Glenn’s confidence is the highest it’s ever been. She’s emerged as one the leading scorers on the team, averaging 16.4 points per game, second behind teammate Courtney Woods, sophomore guard and forward, who averages 17.5 points per game.

Carlsen said what gives Glenn the most confidence is when her 3-point shot is falling because Glenn knows she can get to the rim and won’t hesitate. Glenn’s shooting 38 percent on 3-pointers this year compared to 29 percent this past season.

“A few years ago, I wouldn’t have really thought twice about shooting the three,” Glenn said. “If I would’ve gotten [the ball], I would’ve passed it right away, but now I get it and I don’t have a problem shooting [a three].”

Glenn was named MAC West Division player of the week on Jan. 24 after setting a career-high 32 points on Jan. 21 against Miami University, crushing her previous career-high of 26 points set on Dec. 19 at University of South Dakota and then tied the following day at University of Missouri-Kansas City. Glenn set a career-high 14 rebounds on Jan. 25 against Kent State University.

Defensively, Glenn has collected 19 blocks through 20 games played this season, surpassing her 14 blocks in 24 games played last season.

Glenn’s been getting to the line more this season, as she’s shooting 55-for-79 (70 percent) from the free-throw line this season compared to 10-for-26 (39 percent) last season.

Senior guard Ally Lehman, who is also Glenn’s roommate, said Glenn’s confidence has especially shown since Carlsen and her staff have come in, as she wasn’t second guessing herself and started to attack the basket.

“Most post players don’t even look to drive, and I think Cass has kind of taken on that she could do both,” Lehman said. “I think what coach Carlsen does is she kind of gives her that confidence. She’s behind her and wants her to do what most post players can’t do, and that’s be a threat anywhere on the floor.”

Lehman said Glenn takes a lot of stress and pressure off her because she can trust Glenn with the ball.

“She actually does run like a point guard anyway,” Lehman said. “So, if I’m exhausted from the last play, she can set up her players well, you can trust her on the offensive end and defensive end, [she] always has the help side and [can] cover across the lane and block someone if need be.”

Glenn is set to graduate in May, and she’s not completely sure of her plans after graduation but said it’s between attending graduate school to become a physician assistant or playing basketball overseas.

Before meeting Assistant Coach Adam Tandez, playing overseas hadn’t crossed Glenn’s mind because she didn’t think she was good enough for it, but after the coaching staff showed belief in her, she’s been considering it.

The confidence Glenn gained during the game on Dec. 13, 2015 after words of encouragement from Carlsen will assist her in whatever it is that she wants to pursue.

“Now that I have more confidence than I’ve ever had, I won’t be nearly as afraid to go out there [and] try new things,” Glenn said. “I won’t be afraid to go [play] overseas. I’ll think that I’m good enough to do things like that.”