SpringfieldNewsSun.com

Brittany Smart: You just ended your Cedarville University career as the highest-scoring female college basketball player in Ohio and NAIA Division II history.

What are you going to do next?

Unless there's an opportunity to share her faith, it won't be going to Disney World.

She's made a major impact on the court at every level she's played, but behind all the headlines, and awards and victories lies a burning desire to make a bigger impact off of it.

So just two days after suffering a heart-breaking end to a hallmark career in the NAIA national semifinals, Smart was already healing.

"I know somehow through our loss, we impacted another person on the other team," she said on Wednesday. "It's not the end of the world. But it really tests your character.

"(A national title) was a team goal, and we're all disappointed that we didn't quite capture that. But the Lord has his reasons."

Those reasons are enough for her.

"The Lord's been good to us," she said. "He can definitely provide success, but success in different ways. It may be something you don't even realize at the time."

So she's OK with her collegiate career coming to an end.

"There's mixed emotions definitely," she said. "It's been a great four years at Cedarville. But at the same time, I'm anxious to move on and see what's out there."

Like the WNBA?

"That's still up in the air," said Smart. "I really didn't go the right route of the D-I college and make my name known. But I still want to keep playing. Whether it's the WNBA, or overseas or Athletes in Action."

She is going to work in an Athletes in Action camp this summer, plus help coach an elite AAU team in Cleveland.

"That's how I've had a huge platform for Christ, is playing," she said. "It's a great way to get to know some great people, too."

Smart relies on her skills to open doors for sharing her faith, no matter where those doors might lead.

"I'm not going to say, 'This is where I want to go, this is what I want to do.' I'm just going to go through whatever door is open," she said.

Smart is hoping to use her sports exercise studies major, though.

"It'll be something to do with sports. Because the Lord has blessed me with athletic ability. As long as I can impact people's lives with my gifts, he'll keep blessing me.

"Having my faith is really gotten me through it all," she continued. "I really believe I've given him all the glory. Really, our success is not in the world's eyes, but in the Lord's eyes."

That's why her athletic accomplishments are secondary.

"I'm going to be done playing basketball, and all my records are just going to fade away, going to be broken," she said. "But that's what's so awesome about it: Your relationship with Him is never going to fade away."