Oct. 30, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - When Penn State women's basketball head coach Coquese Washington addressed the media following her team's, 102-51, victory over Lock Haven in exhibition play, the seventh year head coach smiled as the first question was posed.
"What did you see that you like and what did you see that you didn't like?" asked the reporter.
Washington paused for a second, probably reflecting back to her first couple of seasons on the job in Happy Valley when she coached such a large group of newcomers, and then responded.
"We've got a lot of work to do," said Washington.
The Lady Lions played all 12 of their available players - including all six freshmen - and used multiple lineups on the floor, making changes at nearly every break in the action. Ten different players played at least 15 minutes, while none one played more than 23 of the 40 minutes.
"We played a lot of different lineups," said Washington, "so in some ways it was difficult [for our players] to find a rhythm out there when we're substituting and playing a lot of different combinations. One thing that we have to get better at is our chemistry on the court, finding our rhythm and understanding the flow of the game."
That rhythm will come with more time on the court together, as Penn State will replace three of their five starters this season, and the chemistry is starting to be felt by the older players that were excited about the progress the team has made since officially starting practice just one month ago.
"I think the chemistry between us is good and I think it's improving each day," said senior Ariel Edwards. "Since we're a young team and we have a lot of new pieces, it's going to take some time for us to get to the point we want to get to. But it's definitely getting there and we're going to continue to work to get to that point."
Edwards led all players with 21 points, connecting on 7-of-10 shots, and was joined by reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Maggie Lucas, senior Dara Taylor, junior Tori Waldner and sophomore Candice Agee in the starting lineup.
Lucas added 19 points - collecting eight of her points at the foul line - in just 21 minutes of play, which is sure to be the lowest amount of minutes the senior sees in a game this season, and Taylor added nine points, six assists and committed only one turnover as the point guard.
Taylor, who served as a primary ball handler at times last season, will be assuming the point guard position on a fulltime basis this season as Alex Bentley moved on to the WNBA after graduating in 2013.
"I think she [Dara] did a great job," Washington said about her point guard. "I think she finished with six [assists] and one turnover. She did good handling the ball and finding her teammates. She is becoming a vocal leader and she is directing the team."
Taylor played a team-high 27 minutes vs. the Eagles, which could have been to get each player a little court time with the new court captain, and did a great job of getting everyone involved in the offense.
All 12 of the Lady Lions scored in the game and nearly everyone, save 5-foot-7 guard Keke Sevillian, grabbed at least two rebounds.
Those rebounds were something that led to the second thing that Washington liked about her team's exhibition effort; transition baskets.
"I was really pleased with our ability to get out and transition," Washington said. "I was pleased with our rebounding and I feel that we handled the ball very well. I like that we were able to go out there and executed our sets on both ends of the floor."
The Lady Lions 17 assists on 35 baskets were a big part of that execution on the offensive end and their head coach thinks that those numbers will get higher because she has an "unselfish team".
There were a number of bright spots and you can see the freshman are getting a little more comfortable with each passing day, but like any team early in the season there are still things to work on.
Lucas and her teammates know that many of the wrinkles they experience on Sunday against Lock Haven came be ironed out with better communication.
"I think it's important that we continue to work on talking and communicating with each other," said Lucas. "There are a lot of new faces [on our roster], so we have to continue to talk on the court. Last year we were a veteran team and we knew what one another were thinking [on the court], so we just have to keep working to get to that point."
The Lady Lions will have two weeks to work with each other heading into their season opener on Friday, Nov. 8 against St. Francis.