Sept. 30, 2013
Lady Lion Community Carnival Information (Sun., Oct. 6)
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - After claiming back-to-back Big Ten Championships for the first time in nearly 10 years, the Lady Lions will look to recharge with the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Maggie Lucas, five other returning letterwinners and an eight-member recruiting class. The Lady Lions returned to the national spotlight as they spent last season in the Top 10 in the USA Today Sports Coaches' Poll for the first time since 2003-04.
Despite the loss of WNBA draftee and three-time All-Big Ten first team choice Alex Bentley, the backcourt remains solid for the Lady Lions with the return of Lucas, Big Ten All-Defensive Team selection Dara Taylor and Ariel Edwards. Penn State also adds Kaliyah Mitchell, Peyton Whitted, Jenny DeGraaf and Keke Sevillian to the fold as freshmen.
Lucas added several honors to her trophy case during an outstanding junior campaign. In addition to becoming the first Lady Lion to win Big Ten Player of the Year since 2004, Lucas was a Wade Trophy Finalist, Wooden Award Finalist, USBWA All-American, Associated Press second team All-American, Full Court Press second team All-American, WBCA honorable mention All-American and Big Ten All-Tournament team. She was third in the Big Ten in scoring (20.1), third in free throw percentage (.900), sixth in steals (2.3) and second in three-point field goals made (3.1). Additionally, Lucas led the Big Ten and was fourth nationally in three-point field goal percentage with a .462 mark, which was also the second-best single-season mark in school history. She enters her final season in Happy Valley seventh in program history with 1,838 points and third in Big Ten history with 292 career three-pointers made. Her .887 career free throw percentage also tops the Lady Lion charts, as does her .433 shooting effort from long range amongst shooters with 100 or more attempts.
"It's hard to believe Maggie is a senior already," Washington said. "It seems as if she just got here! It is going to be fun to watch Maggie as a senior. She has really improved every facet of her game during her time here at Penn State. She is a special player, with an extremely high competitive drive and a work ethic that is out of this world. It will be fun to see the ways in which she has improved her game going into her last year suiting up for us."
After sitting out the 2011-12 season due to NCAA transfer rules, Taylor made an immediate impact for the Lady Lions. She was second on the team and fifth in the Big Ten in steals with a 2.4 per game average. For her efforts, she was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive team. Taylor also finished in the Top 10 in the league in assists (10th - 3.4) and assist-to-turnover ratio (9th - 1.2). She also contributed 7.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.
"It was so fun to watch Dara play last year and she helped our backcourt become one of the most dynamic backcourts in the nation last year," Washington said. "Her ability to change the game by her defensive prowess is phenomenal. She has easily stepped into the leadership role that we expect our point guards to have and is highly respected by her teammates. She is fun to watch play and our fans will enjoy what she has to offer."
Edwards started six games a year ago and posted a career-best scoring average at 7.9 points per game. She was solid against LSU in the NCAA Tournament, posting 13 points in 15 minutes while going 6-for-10 from the field. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, Edwards had a personal-best 24 points against Detroit at the Cal State Northridge Tournament in November.
"Ariel is really coming into her own as a senior," Washington said. "I expect this to be a breakout year for her. Ariel is so versatile and is an outstanding athlete. She is going to provide a lot of production for us on both ends of the floor this year."
Mitchell was the 40th-ranked recruit by All-Star Girls Report out of high school. She will provide the Lady Lions with another weapon on the wing as she averaged 18.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.1 steals per game as a senior at Stephenson High School. She was a first team All-State selection and the Dekalb County Player of the Year as she led Stephenson to a 25-6 overall record and 12-2 mark in league play.
"Kaliyah will provide us some size and strength at the wing position," Washington said. "She is a very good scorer and rebounder who likes physical play."
Ranked 60th by All-Star Girls Report, Whitted comes to Penn State after leading North Gwinnett to the Georgia State Championship game. She accounted for 13.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists as a senior. She was a first team All-Metro Atlanta Girls honoree and took home second team all-state accolades last year.
"With her size and skill, Peyton will give us versatility on the perimeter," Washington said. "She can do a lot of things well and we will move her around to take advantage of her full skill set."
DeGraaf was ranked 87th recruit by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report after averaging 19.2 points and 9.4 rebounds last year to lead Springboro to a 17-7 overall record and an 8-2 mark en route to a second-place finish in the South standings for the Greater Western Ohio Conference (GWOC). She set the school's single-season record for free throws made with 121, including 25 consecutive makes from the charity stripe. DeGraaf finished her career with 1,070 points, which ranks eighth in school history, 591 rebounds and 115 blocks.
"Jenny is, quite simply, a fantastic shooter," Washington said. "You can never have too many shooters on a team and Jenny DeGraaf knows how to put the ball in the hole."
Sevillian, who missed her senior year after tearing her ACL, led Goodrich High School in Michigan to their first-ever Class B State Championship in 2011-12 with a perfect 28-0 record.. A two-time All-State point guard, she averaged 13.5 points and 3.6 assists per game during her junior season. Sevillian was also an outstanding track athlete, earning four varsity letters at Goodrich. She holds the school record in the 300-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash.
"Keke is a very fast, defensive dynamo," Washington said. "She loves getting after it on the defensive end. She uses her speed on both ends of the floor and she will certainly contribute to our transition game."
The Lady Lions will have to fill both starting spots with the loss of Mia Nickson and Nikki Greene in the post. Returnees Talia East, Candice Agee and Tori Waldner are poised to lead the charge under the basket. Penn State will also add depth in the post with the addition of Alex Harris and Infiniti Alston.
East will provide some muscle in the post for the Lady Lions. She enters her final season in the Blue & White ranked 19th on Penn State's career blocks list with 57 rejections in her first three seasons. In her only start last season, East responded, scoring a career-high 11 points with three blocks against Fairleigh Dickinson. She was a beast on the boards in the NCAA Tournament, averaging 10.0 caroms in two games. She pulled in 12 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass in the first round win over Cal Poly.
"Talia has really grown into her leadership role and is doing a fantastic job as a captain for our team," Washington said. "As the most experienced post player on our roster, we are going to count on her to provide consistency and leadership for our bigs."
Agee spent much of last season learning from arguably one of the best centers in Penn State history in Greene. In 26 appearances, she had 51 points, 48 rebounds and 13 blocks. Over the summer, Agee earned her second gold medal with USA Basketball at the FIBA U19 World Championship. In the summer of 2012, Agee won gold with Team USA in the U18 FIBA Americas.
"Expectations are high for Candice this year," Washington said. "She is an extremely talented player who has a really nice touch around the basket. She also runs the floor very well. Now that she has gotten in better shape and has adjusted to college play, I imagine that she we will be a lot more productive for us this year."
Waldner rejected a career-high 32 shots as a sophomore and ranks 20th on Penn State's career block list with 50 rejections. In the win over Minnesota in January, she blocked a personal-best five shots. Waldner tallied 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 points per game a year ago.
"Tori's dedication to improving her skills has been clearly evident this off-season," Washington said. "She is playing with a high level of confidence and we expect her to be an impact player for us this year. She is an extremely smart player, with a knack for blocking shots and rebounding, so this year we will see what she has added to her game offensively."
Harris came out of high school ranked 49th by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report and All-Star Girls Report. As a senior, she averaged a double-double with 11.7 points and 12.6 rebounds with 6.2 blocked shots per outing. As a senior, Harris was named 2012-13 Division 1 Lorain County Player of the Year and claimed first team Associated Press Northeastern Lakes All-District accolades. A four-time All-Lorain County first team choice, Harris grabbed 1,043 rebounds and blocked 382 shots during her high school career.
"Alex may be the fastest post we have had in a while," Washington said. "She really gets up and down the floor well and is fantastic rebounder."
Alston was the 48th-ranked recruit by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report after leading Digital Harbor High School to the Baltimore City Division I Championship as a senior. In her junior year, she averaged 14.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 2.0 assists for Digital Harbor High School.
"Infiniti is a very hard worker and has no quit in her," Washington said. "I love her attitude."
The Lady Lions also added Lindsey Spann and Sierra Moore to their roster, but neither will likely see time this season. Spann tore her ACL in July, while Moore will sit out the season due to NCAA transfer rules after coming to Happy Valley from Duke.
Spann was ranked as the 22nd-best player by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report out of high school after averaging 15.9 points, 5.3 assists and 2.4 steals with an 80% free throw percentage as a senior. She guided Good Counsel to a 25-5 overall record and a 16-3 mark in league play and the Falcons advanced to the WCAC Championship game for the seventh time in nine years. Spann was selected to the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) All-League first team, the Montgomery Gazette All-Gazette first team and Washington Post All-Met first team as a senior.
"Although Lindsey won't play this year, she has shown an incredible work ethic and tremendous leadership skills," Washington said. "We look forward to getting her back on the floor next year."
Moore joins the Lady Lions after spending her freshman season at Duke where she averaged 2.5 points per game. As a high school player at Delone Catholic, Moore was the 2012 Gatorade Player of the Year and Associated Press Class AA Player of the Year in the state of Pennsylvania. She was also a McDonald's High School All-American as a senior, giving the Lady Lions four McDonald's honorees on the current roster (Lucas, Taylor, Agee). Moore scored 2,595 points during her high school career to break the York-Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) scoring record.
"Sierra, in a word, is relentless," Washington said. "She just keeps coming at you. She is a tremendous defender and excels in the transition game. She is going to spend this year learning our system and when she is able to play next year - watch out!"
The Lady Lions tout a tough non-conference schedule to go along with the always challenging Big Ten schedule. Penn State will host previous National Champions Connecticut, Notre Dame and Texas A&M. Overall, the Lady Lions will face 18 teams (10 NCAA, 7 WNIT, 1 WCBI) that participated in postseason play last year.
"We have a very competitive non-conference schedule, and we'll throw all the newbies into the fire right away," Washington. "We love the fact that we are playing some of the nation's best teams and our fans are going to enjoy the basketball they will see in the BJC this year."