A transfer from Hiawassee Junior College in Kingston, Tenn., where she was a two-time National Junior College All-American, Carolyn Bush arrived at Wayland Baptist just as a new era in Flying Queens basketball began.  Long-time coach Harley Redin had just retired, and Dean Weese was hired to take his place.  A number of new faces were recruited to help return the Queens to the AAU title game after a two-year absence.  Among those newcomers was Bush, a 6’2 post who was expected to give the Queens additional strength inside and provide offensive balance. 

The Tennessee native certainly got the job done.  The Flying Queens not only returned to the AAU Championship game, but won it, as well as the NWIT Championship, in each of Bush’s two seasons of play.  She led the team in both scoring and rebounding during those two years, earning AAU and NWIT All-American honors.  Bush graduated from Wayland in 1975 as the #8 all-time scorer in Flying Queens history with 1,090 career points.

The 1973-74 Queens finished the season with a school record 37 wins.  Bush scored 521 points and pulled down 352 rebounds and was rewarded by being named AAU Rookie of the Year.  She was also named Most Valuable Player of the NWIT. 

The Flying Queens went 34-1 during Bush’s senior year, winning 27 straight games to start off the season.   Bush, one of 10 women named to Street and Smith Basketball Yearbook’s first-ever Preseason Women’s All-American team, was named MVP of the NWIT for the second time in as many years after averaging just over 33 points and 10 rebounds during the tourney.  She was also named AAU Tournament MVP and was honored as a 1975 Kodak All-American. 

During her time at Wayland, Bush earned MVP honors of various tournaments 15 times.  She was featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd”, and was a National Amateur Association of Universities Women’s Basketball team member.  Bush was named 1975 Texas Panhandle Player of the Year, represented the United States in the World University Games in Mexico; played in the Pan-American Games in Columbia; and toured Russia, China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea with an USA All-Star team.   In 1976, she was a finalist for the U.S.A. Women’s Olympic team.