ROXIE &045; It wasn’t like Carletta Brown was in a deep sleep that Tuesday night in late January.

After all, what college kid do you know that goes to bed before 2 a.m.?

And, remember, this is Brown, the former Franklin County High standout who is in her final year at the point for Ole Miss.

But it was late at night on Jan. 27, and when the phone rang, she stared at it long and hard from the other side of the room before picking up the receiver.

&uot;It was my cousin who goes to Mississippi State,&uot; said Brown, whose Lady Rebels face Alabama in the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville, Tenn., at 2:30 p.m. today. &uot;He asked me, ‘Have you heard?’ and I was like, ‘Heard what?’ I knew something was wrong.&uot;

Her instincts never lie, but when Bradlon Huff broke the tragic news of a house fire in Roxie that took the life of Carletta’s great grandmother Rosie Lee Brown, and left grave burns on her grandmother Sadie Lee Brown, she didn’t want to hear it.

This was the second time in three months Huff had been the bearer of bad news via telephone.

On Nov. 1, Cora Lee Brown, Carletta’s great aunt and Sadie Lee’s twin sister, lost an extended battle with cancer.

But these deaths Š No, no Huff had to be mistaken. Not &uot;Dear,&uot; the Brown’s infectious name for Sadie Lee.

&uot;I called home and said to my mom, ‘Tell me it’s not true,’&uot; Carletta recalled. &uot;She told me the house caught on fire and my great-grandmother had died and they had to get my grandmother out through the window.&uot;

Tragedy strike

Carlton Brown, Carletta’s father, less than an hour before had been at his mother and grandmother’s home tending to several things prior to the fire.

The electrical fire broke out at approximately 11:30 p.m., caught on some curtains and the only concern had to be for the two ladies’ lives among the flames.

Sadie Lee has been paralyzed for a number of years and Carlton broke a window to pull her from the furnace.

&uot;My 17-year-old (Sonya Brown) said, ‘I was ready to do CPR,&uot; said Lola Brown, Carletta’s mother. &uot;I was ready to save my grandmother.&uot;

Rosie Lee was nowhere to be found amidst the spreading blaze. Her body was recovered after the fire was extinguished.

She was found lying next to her daughter’s bed.

Sadie Lee was flown to the Mississippi Firefighters Memorial Burn Center, a part of the Delta Regional Medical Center, in Greenville.

There she endured several plastic surgeries, attempts to erase the physical scars, while the emotional pain still bore ambers.

&uot;We’re not the only ones suffering,&uot; Lola said. &uot;After being in that burn center, you see just how many people go through it.&uot;

A heavenly 3-pointer

Pedal to the metal from Oxford, Carletta arrived in shambles on her parents’ doorstep at 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 28.

She stayed in Roxie for the funeral and several more days before, with a heavy heart, rejoining her Ole Miss team in Oxford that Sunday.

Carletta hadn’t practiced all week and it showed. She was rusty, missing her first six looks against Kentucky on Feb. 1.

&uot;When Carletta doesn’t practice, there’s always a huge void,&uot; Ole Miss’ first-year head coach Carol Ross said. &uot;For one, her physical presence, but also there’s an emotional void. She’s got her quiet, sweet demeanor. Our hearts were heavy because we knew she was back in Roxie under sad conditions. We all felt her absence.&uot;

The Lady Rebels and the partisan crowd continued to lift Carletta up through chants, posters and applause.

The inspiration worked, as Carletta buried a 3-pointer at the end of regulation to tie a game the Lady Rebels eventually prevailed in, 90-88 in two overtimes.

Carletta is savvy in thinking that ball had a little help in finding its way through the rim.

&uot;It kind of felt surreal,&uot; she said.

&uot;She wanted to be back the Sunday after. How in the world she did that, I’ll never know,&uot; Ross said. &uot;To have that peace in her heart, still amazes me. That’s how she’s been so graceful and successful in dealing with this in a mature way.&uot;

Priorities in line

Tragedy is not a topic that makes Carletta comfortable, despite shouldering so much of it in recent months.

The entire Brown family have acted as modern day Jobs, as often as close ones are either pulled away or put in harm’s way.

Lola’s father, Robert Tillman, underwent open heart surgery last week and continues to recovering in the critical care unit at St. Dominic/Jackson Memorial Hospital.

&uot;I’m not questioning God; I’ve never questioned God,&uot; Lola said. &uot;I just ask him to give me strength to accept things I can’t change. He does that every day it seems.&uot;

Elizabeth Cansdale, an Ole Miss teammate, has mourned the deaths of friends, but her tragedies never included family members and never followed in such succession as Carletta’s.

&uot;It’s always hard in these situations because you always want to be positive,&uot; said Cansdale, who joined Carletta as a freshman at Ole Miss in 2001. &uot;It’s twice as hard for Carletta because she’s gotta turn around and play basketball. We just want her to know the whole team is behind her; when she’s sad, we’re sad.&uot;

For her part, Carletta has used basketball as an outlet. Coaches and fans issue encouraging words every day, both verbally and through cards.

It’s all nice and comforting, but what goes on in the confines of her room gets a little tougher, she admits.

&uot;It’s hard to stay focused sometimes,&uot; Carletta said. &uot;To me, family is much more important than basketball. I think that’s for anybody. It’s hard to see my family hurting, and hard to believe it’s going to get better.&uot;

An inspiring family

Carletta perseveres. Thanks in part to coaches such as Ross and teammates such as Cansdale.

Last Sunday, Ross lost her grandmother just hours before the Lady Rebels hosted Arkansas to close the SEC regular season.

&uot;I knew I still had to coach the team, but I didn’t want them to know,&uot; said Ross, whose team won 84-73. &uot;I used Carletta in thinking how I wanted to handle myself. She’s a role model for me.&uot;

The large slice of Carletta’s resolve goes on Lola’s plate.

&uot;I’ve learned to live one day at a time,&uot; Lola said. &uot;I thought I could plan ahead, but I’m realizing now that I must live in the present.

&uot;If it was up to us, we’d hold our love ones and there would be no pain. But (God) knows best even when we don’t always understand. He’s promised to give strength to get us through this.&uot;