Dec. 3, 2014
By Mike Esse, GoPSUSports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Lindsey Spann set out a plan prior to her arrival to Penn State in the summer of 2013, one that included her being on the court during her first college basketball season. However, it turned out to be the exact opposite of what she planned: sitting on the bench due to an injury that sidelined her for an entire season.
She played the waiting game, while rehabbing and training so she could be playing at a top level upon her return to the court in her debut Lady Lion season.
It's safe to say in the early stages of the 2014-`15 season this part of Spann's new plan of excelling on the court is panning out just fine.
The redshirt freshman is in the top two on the team in minutes played, points, assists, steals and free throw percentage six games into the season. She has also led the team in scoring in three of its six games and has yet to post a game without a double-digit point total.
Her head coach says the explanation of her success is simple: an unmatched work ethic.
"Lindsey is a competitor," head coach Coquese Washington said. "She killed it in the training room last year. She was remarkable with her work ethic coming back from her knee injury. It says a lot about her determination to be able to come back and step right in and not miss a beat physically."
Spann spent countless hours in the training room rehabbing and getting stronger in efforts to be ready for this season, while having to deal with the tough reality of not being able to play day in and day out.
"The hardest part about it was not being able to play," Spann said. "It was just about keeping a positive attitude and knowing that everything was going to be alright and everything happens for a reason and I had to work to get better."
Her efforts to return to the court did not go unnoticed in the Lady Lion locker room.
"You can definitely see that she worked really hard in the offseason to get back to where she is now," fellow guard Sierra Moore said. "I think she has grown more and matured more as a player even though she is a freshman on the court I think that experience of watching the game and getting to know it is an advantage as a point guard. "
Although it may not seem like it's true, there were many benefits for Spann as she sat out the 2013-`14 season, some of which are visible with her play this season.
Spann was able to watch tremendous guards and leaders in Maggie Lucas and Dara Taylor and see how they approached the game both as players and as leaders.
"I realized that I needed to bring a lot more energy and be loud and encouraging and become a leader that's demanding of what we expect of each other," Spann said.
Washington agreed.
"I think being able to watch it and see it up close gave her some perspective," the head coach said. "Lindsey is a different type of leader and different type of leader for this team. The things she picked up on were the impact that the point guard has on the team and how the point guard has to be the engine and the heart of the team."
Now, with that season behind her, Spann is taking all of her experiences and see them come full circle and Washington is not surprised with the outcome.
"She has a pretty high basketball IQ and as she's adjusting to the speed of the game and the contact of the game she's getting better and better every night out," Washington said. "She has confidence in her abilities and that's allowed her to step into the starting point guard spot as a freshman and have a measure of success."
Penn State heads to Syracuse on Thursday for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Tip is at 7 p.m.