Bruna Vila Artigues, Ashley Chin and Taylor Goode have all had difference experiences playing basketball at Central Connecticut State, one is an international transfer student, one is a four-year contributor and one has experienced significant injuries throughout her collegiate career.

Despite their different paths, the two guards and the forward have formed a bond that creates the Blue Devils senior class of 2020 and they would not change that for anything.

“It’s only been two years [for me] but I’ve had some great experiences, met great people and I wouldn’t change it for anything,” Vila said.

“You come in as a freshman, you go through the process and before you know it you’re a senior and it’s like ‘Wow, it’s really over,'” Chin said. “But, in the end, it’s worth it. You’ve made friends, made memories, you’ve made stories that you can later tell your grandkids and it’ll be a lifelong experience that you can’t get doing anything else but basketball so I’m definitely grateful.”

Perhaps the hardest road to senior night was taken by Taylor Goode.

“[It’s been] a rough couple of years for me but it’s all worth it because of my teammates, I wouldn’t want anyone else picking me up [through the hard times].”

Goode played in 30 games as a freshman, played 10 minutes a night and averaged 3.5 points on 35.6 percent shooting from the field, a promising start to her collegiate career coming from Holbrook, NY.

After appearing in 13 games during her sophomore campaign, Goode tore her right ACL, sprained her MCL and tore both sides of her meniscus.

She said that was the worst injury she has ever experienced.

Once she recovered and was ready to go for this season, she retore her meniscus.

“That really did something for me mentally because it’s hard to come back from an injury so it kind of set me back,” Goode said. “But I’m grateful that I’m here now and that I was able to participate during my senior night.”

“You’re so used to doing a routine and for it to stop, you don’t know what to do with yourself. I kind of felt lost at first but my teammates were always there. I remember Chin was the first one to help me out, like in and out of the showers, making sure I was good and calling me. It’s been hard but I’m fortunate to have great teammates and great family.

It was an emotional night for Goode and Chin, who came into the program as freshmen together. They just wanted to experience their success together on the court.

“I remember when Taylor scored a basket, I ran down the court and I’ve waited so many years to high five her when she scored while playing together,” Chin said.

Interim head coach Kerri Reaves also said how impressive Goode’s journey has been.

“Taylor is just a picture of perseverance with everything she’s been through with the injuring on the court and having the mental strength to come back day after day and stay with it [physically] and academically,” Reaves said.

“She’s a high achieving academic kid [despite her circumstances]. It’s easy to get lost in the academics when basketball isn’t going well but she never faltered and she’s going to go on to do great things.”

Unlike Chin, Vila met Goode after transferred from Arenys de Munt, Catalunya in her junior year but did not know what her future held once she became a Blue Devil.

She said she had doubts as to what her role was going to be with the team.

“I came to Central thinking I was never going to play,” Vila said. “Just being able to start and bringing something to the team made me believe in myself.”

In her first season wearing the blue and white, Vila averaged nearly 20 minutes per contest and played in 28 games, starting 24 of them at point guard.

This season, her senior campaign, she played in 29 games, started 22 and played 22.4 minutes per game.

Vila contributed on the court but Reaves said her reach goes beyond the hardwood.

“Bruna has only been here two years but she is so caring, she is so heartfelt, so mature, so intelligent and what she’s doing, with [English] being her second language is just phenomenal.”

Vila is a communication major at Central and will return home once her final semester of college is over. Once there, she plans to continue her basketball career.

“I definitely want to keep playing basketball,” Vila said. “I don’t know what level yet but there’s a bunch of leagues and teams where you can go to back home. I’ve been playing my whole life so I don’t want to change that.”

Vila averaged 3.1 points per game in her career on just 3.4 attempts per game.

For Chin, she plans to return home in Pickering, Ontario, to start working and build herself up through in her study area, criminology.

“Ashley Chin has always been a quiet, mature individual and you can see that she’s grown so much off the court with her academics and her career in criminology,” Reaves said. “She’s a tremendous leader and has a great future.”

On the court, Chin played the most games in her senior class with 108 and started 58 of them. She averaged 3.6 PPG on four attempts per game.

Despite the difficult season, the seniors endured this year, they ended on a high note with two victories.

“It’s good that we ended it on a win, everybody contributed, everyone was happy and I think that’s what really matters,” Vila said.

“I’m proud of us, I mean we really struggled throughout the season so for all of us to come together and finally blow a team out by 20 points means a lot and it means a lot for us seniors,” Chin said. “Everyone contributed, played their part and gave us a win for our last game. It’s really special.”

Central will move forward into next season, but Reaves knows she will miss her 2020 seniors going forward.

“As a group, they’re going to be missed on and off the court,” Reaves said. “They’re going to go on and do great things with their lives.”