Aimee Oertner has been on a wild journey since patrolling the paint for the Northern Lehigh girls’ basketball team in 2012.

The former two-time all-state selection averaged a triple-double during her impressive senior campaign with the Lady Dawgs.But even though her basketball resume was growing in impressive fashion, collegiate programs from around the country seemed disinterested as her high school career was coming to a close.“As my junior and senior seasons at Northern Lehigh went on, a lot of schools started to drop off, saying they couldn’t give me a full scholarship,” explained Oertner. “I always wanted to get a full scholarship and play Division I. It was always my dream.I knew I could do it, I knew I was good enough. A lot of the schools thought I was a “tweener.” In high school I was more of a guard — but I’m big. They all wanted a true post player or a true guard, which I was neither.”But Oertner wasn’t going to let her dream dieAlways listen to your fatherAimee played AAU ball during high school with a friend who had a sibling at Army West Point. Shortly after that discovery, the Army coaching staff surprisingly came to watch her play.“Next, they sent me a letter, but I thought I didn’t want to go there,” Oertner said. “I thought, what is this? I don’t think the military is for me? That’s not my personality!”But all it took was one campus visit for Aimee to fall in love with her future school.“My Dad said that I had to go, and that it was a really good school. He pretty much forced me to come on a visit that I was not happy about,” she said jokingly. “But, when I came and saw the school, I thought it was awesome. I definitely didn’t realize all of the opportunities that were here for me.“It was really cool. The girls were awesome and like a family. Compared to all of the other schools, the environment was so amazing.”Oertner ripped down a double-double in her first ever collegiate contest against Wagner in 2012. Despite her big splash, it wasn’t a walk in the park for the then frosh.“It was pretty difficult for me to adapt, they wanted me to be a true center and in high school I wasn’t,” Oertner explained. “I was put in this position and I didn’t know what I was doing. The girls were much faster and bigger. It was so much easier to post up in high school. Here, you have to think about it.“But the coaches were awesome and all had faith in me. They were always yelling at me to get better and I think that really helped me.”Aimee explained that at times when she first got to West Point she didn’t quite believe in herself, and she discovered that some skeptics didn’t think she would make it either.“There were a lot of people that told me I couldn’t play Division I basketball so it’s been awesome to succeed. I’ve grown as a person on the basketball court and in the classroom. I’m happy where I am in my career and I’m sure some people are surprised to see how far I’ve come.”Despite the doubts from outside and the adjustment Oertner had to make to military life and Division I basketball, her family always had her back.“My dad definitely pushed me to be the best person that I could be,” Oertner said. “He was my coach since second grade. He never went easy on me, which I’m fortunate for. There were times when I’ve called my mom and the rest of my family crying, saying, ‘I don’t think I can do this,’ but they encouraged me and gave me confidence. They have been my number one supporters.”Hard work pays offOertner built up her confidence and put in the time to improve her game over the past four seasons. The results have been monumental. She’s become Army’s all-time leader in blocked shots, ranks 14th all-time in rebounds, and is now among the top-25 in scoring.“She is such a great compliment to her classmates, it’s a great senior class,” said Army women’s basketball coach Dave Magarity. “She’s playing with Kelsey Minato, one of the top-five scorers in the country. But, Kelsey wouldn’t reach the success that she’s had without Aimee’s presence on the floor.“I told Aimee last summer that we weren’t going to maximize our success during her senior year unless she was a huge influence on this team. She had to play significant minutes, be a force offensively, and rebound better. Which she was always great at, but I knew she could be better.”Oertner responded to the challenge, and the results have been incredible.Army enjoyed plenty of success during Oertner’s first three seasons, racking up 75 victories, making it to three Patriot League championship games, and making one appearance in the Women’s NCAA Tournament and two appearances in the Women’s NIT.But this season, Oertner and Army have taken that success to another level. They currently have a 25-2 record overall and a 16-1 Patriot League mark.Oertner has been a huge part of that success. She is second on the team in scoring at 9.4 points per game, and leads Army in both rebounding at 6.4 per game and blocks at 2.8 per game.It’s evident that Oertner has been a major part of the historic streak the program is on. Magarity is well aware of Oertner’s impact.“Every team is coming out and double-teaming Kelsey (Minato) and she was struggling at Navy recently,” recalled Magarity. “Everywhere she goes, she has two defenders on her.“But Aimee totally changed that game. She had seven blocked shots and I think she almost finished with a triple double. Her ability to protect the rim and do other things is huge. She’s such an unselfish player.”An amazing experienceJust four years ago Oertner didn’t know if she would be playing Division 1 basketball. Since then, she’s shattered records at Army, played in the big dance, and has had a very successful academic career.“It’s unbelievable. Coming in, I didn’t even expect to play. I was fortunate enough to start all four years and play a lot of minutes,” Oertner said. “I didn’t think that we would have a winning season every year. The people that I’ve been here with and the opportunities that I’ve been given is amazing.“This year I’m kind of realizing that it’s coming to an end. This is it. I don’t know if I’m ever going to play again. It’s horrible, but it’s a bittersweet feeling because it’s been an unbelievable ride.”Oertner is studying Management with a track in Engineering. Upon graduation in May, she will have two months to unwind before heading to Oklahoma to train as an artillery officer. She will be proudly serving our country for at least the next five years.It will be another chapter in a storybook tale that has taken Oertner from an under-recruited high school senior to one of the best players in Army women’s basketball history.As her collegiate career winds down, it’s obvious that Oertner has achieved her dream in impressive fashion.