FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Sydney Freeman starts stretching for practice. Her calm demeanor steadies Purdue Fort Wayne's women's basketball, who are enjoying their best season in program history. As the Mastodons get ready for practice, one-year old Kylo walks around the edge of the court. Players and coaches beam with smiles as they see one of the youngest Mastodon fans walk up to his mother. Freeman wraps her baby boy around her arms as she continues to get ready for practice. It's just another day for the Mama Mastodon, whose world turned on its head just over a year ago. Since graduating from Central Noble High School in 2019, Freeman's college basketball journey took her all across the Midwest. The Albion native played three seasons at Ball State before transferring to Dayton for the 2022-23 season. In her lone season with the Flyers, Freeman averaged 11.4 points while dishing out 5.6 assists per contest. Freeman's basketball career was flipped after learning some unexpected news in the summer of 2023. Sydney discovered she was four months pregnant. In hindsight, Freeman did not notice anything off about herself physically or mentally in the spring while she was in her first trimester. With a baby on the way, Freeman made the difficult decision to withdraw from Dayton. Freeman gave birth to Kylo in October 2023, five weeks before his due date. Moving back to Albion, Freeman adjusted to life beyond basketball while raising her baby boy. "I'm not really an emotional person, but the tie I felt to (Kylo) was insane," said Freeman. "I can't explain it. I was trying to accept not playing basketball again. Just learning how to live with Kylo and myself. That was the first time I've never played basketball. I had to work a real job, get money and pay for things like an adult." Determined to return to the court, Freeman connected with Maria Marchesano at Purdue Fort Wayne. Marchesano was already familiar with Freeman after recruiting the Central Noble product out of high school. "She sent me some film," Marchesano recalled. "She was clearly in shape and looked like her old self. We were pumped to add her and bring her into this family." Returning to a sport is challenging enough for any athlete when they haven't played in a year. To do so after delivering a baby is a steep hill to climb from a physical, mental and emotional standpoint. Freeman persevered through those hurdles with the help of her new teammates, coaches and family. "I thought that where I was was my max," Freeman said. "That was as in shape as I was going to be, my body-wise. I'm blessed that I've gotten in even better shape then." Two-third through the regular season, Purdue Fort Wayne is enjoying unprecedented success with the women's basketball program. The Mastodons are riding an 11-game winning streak, their longest since moving up to Division I. They are also unbeaten in Horizon League play at 9-0 with marquee wins over conference contenders Green Bay and Cleveland State. Work is far from finished, and Freeman is embracing this climb with Kylo right by her side.