Bernadett and Dorottya Balla find a new home at ORU, on and off the basketball court.
As globalization sweeps through the ORU campus, you’ll find talented students from around the world on the rosters of the 16 Golden Eagle athletic teams. Two of these remarkable athletes are Hungarian sisters Bernadett and Dorottya Balla, who suit up for head coach Misti Cussen’s on the women’s basketball team.
Hailing from Pecs, Hungary, just a few miles from the Croatian border, Bernadett came to ORU in the summer of 2011 after a decorated international youth career. Her impact on the Golden Eagle team was immediate. She scored in double figures nine times as a freshman and was named to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team.
Bernadett’s influence on the ORU team was even greater in her sophomore year. She scored 26 points against Arkansas and 17 against Nebraska that year. Bernadett helped lead the Golden Eagles to a Southland Conference Tournament Championship and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament, where ORU faced the nationally ranked University of Tennessee team.
Still, a piece of Bernadett was missing in her first two collegiate seasons; her younger sister and longtime international squad teammate had stayed behind in Hungary and finished her high school career. But that situation was remedied in the summer of 2013, when Dorottya moved across the pond and joined the ORU roster.
Reunited for the first time in two years, both Balla sisters played the best basketball of their lives last season. Bernadett set career highs in scoring and rebounding, while Dorottya registered the best individual performance by a Golden Eagle in 2013-14, with a whopping 30 points in a Mabee Center win over Houston Baptist.
Both Balla sisters say they could not see themselves learning and playing anywhere else than at ORU.
“ORU is the perfect place to reach my personal goals on and off the court,” Dorottya says.
Both sisters are active throughout the university’s community. They are members of ORU’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter and eager participants in outreach activities each fall and spring.
Though the adjustment from Hungary to the United States is a tough one, the Balla sisters are grateful they have each other and the tremendous ORU community to help them along their journey.
“It’s been a great experience for me to learn about new cultures, mentalities and lifestyles,” Dorottya adds. “I am very thankful for this opportunity.”
Golden Eagle fans can see the sisters in action when basketball season begins in early November.
