 Born Tairia Mims in Tucson, Arizona, Flowers graduated from Salpointe Catholic High School in 1999 and played on the UCLA Bruins softball team from 2000 to 2003 at first base and catcher.Helping UCLA make the championship game of the 2000 Women's College World Series, Mims hit .600 for the series and made the All-Tournament team.UCLA also were runners-up in the 2001 Women's College World Series and won the 2003 Women's College World Series.