Tiffany Collinsworth has a lot to motivate her as Cayuga Community College women's basketball team's leading scorer, but nothing compares to her family, especially her sister.

“My sister is the love of my life,” Collinsworth said. “It's so great to see her at my games cheering me on. My stepmom is great at showing me her support. too and my dad loves this game. He's also like another coach to me. He sees stuff that my coaches might not see and then works on it with me.”

Collinsworth credits her father for getting her into basketball.

“Sports are very big in my family,” Collinsworth said.

The Romulus native also credits her teammates.

“I couldn't do this without my teammates.” Collinsworth said.

Off the court, Collinsworth juggles school, work and basketball. Collinsworth works 40 hours at the college's radio station as one of the managers.

“I take it one day at a time,” Collinsworth said. “Sometimes it overwhelms me, but when everything's done, I feel good about it.”

On the court, everything is smooth for her. In addition to being one of the best players in the conference, there's the one move that leaves opposing teams confused.

“I think the reason no one can stop it is because I'm left handed.” Collinsworth said. “Plus I'm not big so being quick helps.”

Collinsworth is a team leader, she makes a play and her teammates follow.

“Her teammates notice her out there working hard and it reflects,” Spartans head coach Jim Alberici said.

Collinsworth was named to the All-Conference team Saturday in their loss to Broome Community College.

“She was very deserving of that award,” Alberici said. “I even thought she was deserving of the player of the year award too.” More importantly, Collinsworth has a winning attitude.

“She would rather score two points and win then 30 points and lose,” Alberici said.

She also understands teamwork. She gives full credit to teammates in helping with her accomplishments.

“It's not just me,” Collinsworth said. “It's my teammates too. They do so much for me and we've accomplished so much this year.”

Collinsworth is preparing for a four-year college and knows in order to succeed, she still needs to improve.

She's working on using her right hand more.

She's also trying out at guard for her quest to the higher level. Among the schools she's looking at are RIT, SUNY Fredonia and St. John Fisher.

She is currently studying communications and and would like to continue with that, but she has her sights set on specific goals.

“I want to be something in broadcasting,” Collinsworth said. “Then I would like to be an English teacher and basketball coach also.”

As her coaches say, she's the type of player that makes them feel good about their profession.