A 1991 graduate of Ravenna High School, Place was a three-sport star in basketball, volleyball, and softball, earning 11 varsity letters and all-state honors in volleyball and basketball for the Bulldogs. Her biggest achievements came on the basketball court, where she averaged 26.2 points as a senior and finished fourth in the Michigan’s Miss Basketball balloting.
Place went on to have a stellar four-year career at Michigan State University, playing in all 28 games and averaging 13.1 minutes as a freshman. She is remembered as a deadly long-range shooter who led the MSU in career three-point field goals with 159 in 110 career contests. Place started 57 games for the Spartans, scoring 999 points during her time in East Lansing, falling a single point shy of joining the school’s elite 1,000-point club before graduation in 1999.

Place was a teacher and coach at Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central before starting a family and undergoing a battle with cancer. She underwent a stem cell transplant for from her twin brother in 2004.