GAINESVILLE, Fla. - One of the thrills of parenting is seeing one's child blossom in their own right while carrying on family traditions years down the line. For Shirley (Kendrick) Bender, that thrill comes home this weekend as she will be able to watch her daughter Leeza Burdgess play two games in her old stomping grounds at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Bender, who now lives in Miami, was a two-sport Gator athlete from 1976-80 in the early days of women's athletics as she played volleyball and basketball. She was the volleyball team's Co-MVP in 1978 after helping lead the squad to the championship game of the FAIAW state tournament, and was key in the program's nine-win improvement from the year prior. Unfortunately the volleyball squad was a casualty of financial cutbacks, and was eliminated after that successful 1978 season. Bender joined up with the basketball team to finish out her college career. Although she was not a letterwinner, Bender was privy to the rapid changes and improvements being made at the time in women's college athletics, particularly in basketball. She witnessed the hiring of Florida's first full-time women's basketball coach in her senior season and participated in the inaugural Southeastern Conference Tournament in 1980.

The O'Connell Center, home of the Florida basketball and volleyball among other teams, had broken ground in 1977 and opened for competition just after Bender graduated in 1980. She will see the completion of that on Friday afternoon, getting to watch her daughter tip off as a college athlete at the site she saw being constructed during her time as a Gator.

Burdgess is thrilled to be playing in Gainesville this weekend for the family connection, but even more so that her mom will be in attendance. She loves that her mom follows her games online religiously, but nothing compares to the excitement of playing for her in person.

"[My mom] is my biggest supporter," Burdgess said. "Because she's in Miami, she doesn't get to see the games, this will be only the second time she's gotten to see me play in college. It'll also be the first time for many of my family to get to see me play. A lot of them still live in Gainesville so they will be there too."

How did Burdgess end up following in her mom's athletic footsteps? It actually began from her joking around while at rehearsal at her performing arts middle school. Someone on the PA system called all the basketball players down to practice, and she got up to go as a joke. She said that the others around her didn't even bat an eye, saying "Oh! We just thought you played!"

Being 6-foot-3 in sixth grade, such an assumption would be easy to make though Burdgess was actually still focused on the performing arts. She decided to go to basketball practice anyway, and as they say, the rest is history. She made the full-time commitment in seventh grade and has not stopped since.

"I was not prepared for all that it came with, but I just couldn't stop playing," Burdgess said. "It's been a big part of my life ever since .... and changed my life. I can't imagine my life without it, it's been a positive influence and it also helps me keep focused."

Having athletics in the genes certainly helped. Along with her mother's athletic prowess, Burdgess comes from a long line of football players. Her mother's older brothers Vincent and Preston Kendrick were both Gator football players who were drafted into the NFL in the 1970s. Vincent Kendrick was also on the Gator sidelines as an assistant coach. A number of Leeza's cousins also played Gator football, and her brother played football and basketball in high school and earned college offers.

Burdgess also competed in volleyball in high school, taking up her mom's primary sport in the tenth grade. Burdgess enjoys volleyball, but says, "I'm nothing like what she is [on the volleyball court]."

She stuck with basketball as her primary sport, earning college offers and eventually taking her game to the University of Pittsburgh when recruited by then- Pitt assistant coach and now-La Salle head coach Jeff Williams. When Coach Williams came to La Salle, it was an easy decision for Burdgess to finish out her playing career for him at La Salle once she graduated from Pitt with two years of eligibility remaining.

Burdgess said the initial decision to go to Pittsburgh was easy after going on her official visit. Despite the family alma mater being only six hours away from her Miami home and with a number of relatives living in the Gainesville area, she aimed to explore out on her own in college.

"I wanted to see if I could make it on my own," she said. "I would have had a crutch in Gainesville, since most of my family lives there."

With her mom's and her family's strong support in her back pocket, Burdgess made it on her own very well. She earned her bachelor's degree from Pittsburgh in three years while leading the BIG EAST squad in rebounding. Since transferring to La Salle, she has been working on her master's degree while taking up a leadership role on the Explorers' squad. One of this year's tri-captains, she leads the Explorers in rebounding and recently put up a career-high 20 points on Dec. 5.

With her final season of eligibility underway, Burdgess is excited to bring her game back home to Florida for one more weekend for all of her relatives and especially for her mother.

"This is fun for me because I'm like 'Ohhh I'm going to beat my mom's school, I'm going to beat my family's school," Burdgess added. "And since it's at Florida, I get to see all my family and that I'm excited about because most haven't gotten the chance to see me play. I'm so happy that they're able to come and I just miss my family, it's been a long time."

[My mom] is super excited because she gets to see me play, I really believe it brings her a lot of joy to watch me play because she's really my biggest supporter. She's very very excited. I'm also very excited about this feature because I get to talk about her a little bit! She's such a big part of my success."

Burdgess and the rest of the Explorers tip off at 4:30 on Friday against Florida International in the opening round of the Gator Holiday Classic at the O'Connell Center. If the Explorers and Gators either both win or both lose their opening games on Friday, the squads will meet at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Otherwise, the Explorers will clash with Tennessee State at 4:30 p.m.