On any given day, there are three distinct sounds that ring out from a little house off campus. The sound of dogs running across the room to lovingly greet any and all guests, the opening and closing of doors as the busyness of life keeps everyone on the move, and the sound of laughter filling the room as some hilarious situation plays out.
This is the everyday reality for the four girls who live in the “she” house. Three of the girls play on the Asbury women’s basketball team.
Juniors Spencer Harvey, Haley Southerland, and Emma Strunk have lived together for the past two years. Harvey’s three dogs, Sable, Murphy and Cannon, live with them.
This semester, the house has a new addition. The girls now have a fourth roommate Kayla, who was a former manager for the women’s basketball team, and Haley’s old roommate. Already, she’s blended in with the other girls rounding out the home.
While the home is full of four roommates and three dogs, one important factor in their living situation is the sport that connects them; basketball.
Already, having roommates is a difficult feat at times, especially with four girls, but they all manage to pull it off well; while also seeing each other on the court daily.
“We’re literally with each other 24-7, whether it’s at practice or [home],” Strunk said.
While large chunks of time with the same people can be a lot, the girls found a way to manage and maintain their friendships.
“It’s kind of like living with a sibling,” Harvey said. “We kind of just co-exist for a majority of the time, and we do the same things, like when you’re in little league or something with a sibling.”
Harvey jokingly recalled events from the practice they had just gotten back from.
“It’s nice until your roommate fouls you in practice, and then you’re mad at them, then you come home, and we make up, and we’re friends again,” Harvey said.
However, most of the time, this “situation” is a non-issue for the girls.
“We don’t really play the same positions either, so we don’t even guard each other,” Harvey said. “It kind of helps because if we had to guard each other, it probably wouldn’t be, like, very fun.”
While they do spend a lot of their time up at the Luce, the majority of their time together is at home. But that “24-7” time together can be a lot.
“Obviously, sometimes it’s too much. You can’t have your social battery on 24/7,” Harvey said. “Living with other people that are like siblings but aren’t family is still different. That’s why we can just co-exist and be all in our own rooms just chilling.”
That time together but apart is crucial sometimes. Southerland noted that they don’t bicker a lot, which could be credited to that time as well as an understanding of what one another is going through and respecting those boundaries.
“We also just kind of know, we don’t have to tell each other when we don’t want to talk; we just have an understanding,” Southerland said.
“I think the best way that teammates live together is when they have a mutual understanding of respect for each other,” Harvey said.
That mutual respect carries from on-court to off-the-court and has helped the girls in the “she” house maintain their close-knit bond.
While the house with four roommates, three teammates, and three dogs may seem to be a lot, it is the perfect home for these Asbury athletes.
