FAIRMONT — Adversity, hardships, misfortune.

While coaches, players and sports writers often overuse those words to define both major and minor difficulties in athletics, University of Jamestown senior basketball player Courtney Mosloski more accurately describes those tough times as “just bumps in the road of life.”

“Sports teach you a lot of life lessons, but you have to keep a positive attitude and figure out how to work through each situation,” said Mosloski, who dealt with her own adversity midway through her collegiate hoops career on the Jamestown, North Dakota-based campus.

After etching her name into the Fairmont High School girls basketball program’s record books for fourth-most career points (1,067) and third-best career rebounds (641), in addition to powering the Cardinals to a Class AA state tournament bid in 2015, the powerful 6-foot power forward took her all-around hardwood court skills to the NAIA school.

“I spent my entire freshman year on the JV (junior varsity) team so I could get my feet in the water,” Mosloski said in reference to adjusting to the increased physicality and speed of the game at the collegiate level. “As a sophomore, I got pulled up to the varsity. Our team had a number of good bigs (post players), so I came off the bench, and I was perfectly OK with my role.”

Next — the first bump in the road.

Exit head coach Greg Ulland, who recruited Mosloski to the Jimmies’ basketball program, and enter current mentor Thad Sankey prior to her junior season at Jamestown.

Add road bump No. 2 simultaneously to Mosloski’s mix.

The University of Jamestown not only switched coaches during the offseason in the summer of 2018, the Jimmies also moved from the North Star Athletic Association to the Great Plains Athletic Conference.

“Those were two big changes to our program. The coaching styles were completely different (between Ulland and Sankey) and I had to adjust to a different role,” said Mosloski. “The posts’ roles changed from being a big part of the offense to being more defensive-minded, setting screens and rebounding.”

While Mosloski’s minutes played increased from 6.6 to 9.5 from her sophomore to junior campaigns, her overall numbers slightly decreased.

“It was a big change of pace when we switched conferences, too. The opposing posts were bigger and stronger, so you had to work extra in the weight room in order to be able to box them out,” said Mosloski. “I’ve always taken pride in my defense, so I looked at it as a challenge.”

Mosloski’s positive approach and work ethic paid dividends during her recently-completed senior campaign as she nearly doubled her playing time — 9.5 to 17.9 minutes — and improved her scoring average from 3.2 points per outing to a respectable clip of 6.5.

Bump No. 3 — needing 26 more college credit course hours than the standard 124 in order to apply for the CPA (certified public accountant) test.

Mosloski is currently taking six classes totaling 19 credit hours this semester, in addition to playing basketball, and then bump No. 4 hit with a nationwide thud.

“I’m used to taking classes online, but life definitely changed due to the coronavirus,” said Mosloski, who returned home to Fairmont a month ago and is finishing her academic workload via e-learning.

“It’s nice to be home with my family, but I’ve got a lot of studying and things to get done before graduating on May 14,” said Mosloski, who — on a positive note — will join her fellow 2020 University of Jamestown graduates at a special commencement during the Jimmies’ Homecoming in October.

Now, ALL she needs to do is obtain references from three CPAs, have her application to take the official CPA test approved and then pass four sections of the actual test to earn one’s license.

“You can still send in your applications to take the CPA test and get accepted, but due to the (pandemic) shutdowns, the centers where you take the test aren’t open yet, so it’ll be a while probably,” said Mosloski.

“Unfortunately, you can’t take the test online because you need a proctor to verify that you are who you are,” Mosloski said with a laugh.

The next bump?

“Even after you get everything completed, it may take a while to get a job in accounting since a lot of businesses around the country are currently in hiring freezes,” said Mosloski. “Just another bump in the road to clear.”