A star on the hardwood at Muskegon Heights High School for Tiger Coach Dorothy Gill-Jackson, Cheryl Day led the Heights to the state quarterfinals as a senior in 1984 and earned first-team all-state honors from the Associated Press. Averaging 20 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, Day took her skills to Muskegon Community College, then to University of Detroit.

At MCC, Day upped her averages, leading the Jayhawks to a regional championship and averaging 21.7 points and 15.5 rebounds, gathering second-team National Junior College Athletic Association All-American honors. Her efforts at MCC caught the attention of multiple schools, but not all offered programs in special education and elementary education, Day’s major.

The University of Detroit (now University of Detroit Mercy) offered a match academically and athletically, and the Titans landed a gem. A 6-foot-1 center, Day led U of D in scoring and rebounding in both her junior and senior years. She was an All-conference selection in both seasons and in her senior year was the only conference player to average in double figures in scoring (18.1) and rebounding (10.9).  She still holds the University’s single-game rebounding record with 27 boards, set against Loyola of Chicago in 1990. Over three decades later, her career average of 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest still ranks third all-time in school history.

Following graduation, she returned to the Muskegon Heights school district to teach and coach. In 2013, Day, who scored 1,004 career points during her prep playing days, became the first Heights girl basketball player to have her jersey number (30) retired by the high school.