HAMMOND | You won't hear Meme Harris whine about juggling coursework and being a student-athlete. In fact, that's the easy part of her day.

In between finding a babysitter and making sure she gets to her summer job on time, the junior point guard at Purdue Calumet has little time for herself.

But she doesn't mind.

After overcoming the shooting of her mother, death of her step-father and raising a child who just turned 1 all last year, Harris couldn't be more focused now.

A night of tragic proportions

When the phone rang on Feb. 6, 2008, Harris learned that her mother, Urcella Tucker-Jones, had been shot five times.

The gunman was Harris' stepfather, Neil Jones, according to police reports. Jones was angry after being told the previous week by Tucker-Jones that she was leaving him, thus ending their 20-year relationship and 10-year marriage.

Tucker-Jones told police Jones followed her in his car, then shot her with a .357-caliber Magnum outside Truck Stop of America in Lake Station.

Frozen by fear, Tucker-Jones escaped death by playing dead, lying back and closing her eyes as her husband unloaded shots to her stomach, hand and calf after an altercation at the truck stop.

"Her guardian angel was looking out for her," police Lt. John McDaniel said at the time.

Tucker-Jones acknowledges she was thinking about her four daughters instead of herself at that moment.

"That's all I was thinking about was them," Tucker-Jones said. "Who was going to be there for them? I have to be there for them."

The scene ended with Jones shooting himself twice in the head. He died Feb. 10, 2008, at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill.

An arrival of another

After losing one member of her family, Harris soon learned of the imminent arrival of another.

"I waited till she had a smile on her face when I told my mother I was pregnant," Harris said.

At the end of the season in February, the 5-foot-4 point guard, who was a Times All-Area second-team member as a senior at Merrillville, gained 25 pounds from her regular playing weight of 135. With her doctor's permission, Harris continued playing but had to pace herself on the court more. She didn't let her coach know of her pregnancy, just a few teammates.

On June 29, 2008, Harris' daughter, Rayonna Richardson, was born. After Rayonna's birth, Harris quickly went on a diet, determined to be ready for her sophomore season.

"She realizes that basketball is a game and that it can be taken away from you at any time, so consequently, she is really focused on being appreciative of her opportunity," Purdue Cal women's basketball coach Tom Megyesi said.

Harris has grown up in a hurry, having little time to enjoy herself like other 21-year-olds.

"I really didn't go out that much because I didn't want to leave my baby with anybody," she said, although she did allow her grandparents to take Rayonna to watch her basketball games. "Basically, I just go to school, play basketball and take care of her, that's what my life is about now."

Basketball her 'outlet for everything'

With a mother willing to take multiple bullets and strong enough to survive them, Harris became stronger.

"Meme was there for me the whole time and responded well," said Tucker-Jones, who returned to her job at the post office as a mail carrier in September. "My daughters took good care of me. They were the reason I made it through."

Harris stayed at the hospital until 4 a.m. the night of the shooting, leaving only after learning her mother would be OK. Later that day, Harris played in a basketball game. Her mother insisted she do so.

"That's someone who loved basketball because she never missed a beat," Tucker-Jones said.

"I had to be there for my team," Harris said. "They needed me."

That season's Purdue Calumet squad already was playing shorthanded because of a rash of injuries. The Peregrines' roster consisted of just seven healthy players at that point in the season.

But Harris willed her team to victory against Trinity Christian the day after the incident, scoring 12 points, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out six assists in a 72-65 win.

"Basketball has been my outlet for everything," she said. "For however long I'm at practice or for however long the game is, my mind is focused on basketball. I really don't think about anything else for the time I'm playing. I'm out of reality."

Said Megyesi: "It was a tragedy. It's made her grow up a lot faster than what she should have had to grow up. Meme's been a great inspiration for us.

"To rebound from the tragedy and the adversity that she faced is a testament to her mental approach to the game."