Feb. 15, 2008

By Kieran Darcy, ESPN.com Page 2

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JACKSON, Tenn. - On Tuesday, Feb. 5, the Union University women's basketball team -- the No. 1-ranked National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics team in the nation, with a spotless record of 22-0 -- was scheduled to have a day off from practice. The Lady Bulldogs had played at Lyon College in Batesville, Ark., the night before and didn't arrive back at campus until 2:30 a.m.

The day turned out to be far from restful, though.

Meteorologists were predicting that some nasty storms were going to blow through this city of about 60,000 people, 80 miles east of Memphis. Union's campus was hit by a tornado back in 2002, and tornadoes seemed possible with this storm system as well.

Many of Union's female basketball players are from the West Tennessee area, so several were able to go home and ride the weather out with their families. But a few players stuck around, including reserve guard Lindsay Flynn, who hails from Jackson. She remained in her dorm with some friends.

The forecasters said the most dangerous band of storms would probably arrive in Jackson around 9 p.m., but at approximately 6:40 p.m. the tornado warning sirens on campus began to wail.

Union's students have been instructed to immediately head to the lowest floor of whatever building they're in when they hear those sirens -- the school conducts tornado drills every year. Flynn went into one first-floor dorm room and found about 20 other students in it. Just before 7 p.m., a resident advisor entered the room and determined there were too many people packed into that room. So Flynn and four other girls raced across the hall into a bathroom, closed the door and huddled in the bathtub.

Moments later, "the building started shaking," says Flynn. "I called my mom, but then my ears started popping. And I heard glass shattering ... and screaming."

Flynn says the next several minutes were a blur. Then, finally, there was quiet. She couldn't see much in the darkness, but all the girls were fine. The five of them joined hands and prayed. They were able to crack open the bathroom door -- and soon they saw a flashlight peering in, and heard a rescue worker asking if everyone in the room was OK.

The door wouldn't open completely, but the five girls managed to squeeze their way outside, flipping open their cell phones to use as torches to light their way. And Flynn will never forget her first thought when she emerged outside:

"The walls are gone."

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