Dec. 8, 2014
By Mike Esse, GoPSUSports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Coquese Washington has been open about it since day one of the 2014-15 season - it's a continual work in progress. Part of that work in progress is how a team comes off of a setback, which Penn State (2-6) did very well Sunday topping Wagner (0-7) 96-66.
Her players agree with that assessment and used Sunday's win as another learning point in the young season.
"I don't think our confidence was ever in question," sophomore guard Sierra Moore said. "We just keep working hard every day in practice and we knew what we had to [improve] upon and we knew that if we worked on the things that we needed to [work on], the outcome would be good."
Teammate Lindsey Spann had similar thoughts to Moore stating they know it's a day-by-day mentality in terms of the team's improvement.
"We know that we have a lot of potential, so we just have to be willing to get improve each time on the court," guard Lindsey Spann said. "If we can put up [96 points] each time, then that's what we're going do, but it's just about growth and getting better for us right now."
Washington said after Sunday's win she did see many areas of her team's play improve, which proves to them they are capable of playing the way they want to if they continue to trust the process.
Against Wagner, Washington specifically noticed her team's discipline is starting to get better as they play more games.
"When you're young, you don't always have the discipline to execute," Washington said. "One of the things I was pleased with today was that I saw a lot more discipline out there, especially defensively in the first half.
"What I'm starting to see is a lot more discipline and execution. It's allowing us to be successful."
By being able to own a commanding lead in the second half, Washington was able to test out a few different lineup combinations. Some featured three guards on the floor at the same time; others featured three forwards on the floor at the same time.
Washington even experimented having a lineup without leading scorers Lindsey Spann and Sierra Moore on the floor at the same time, being able to see what other players could contribute in their absence.
"We're still young and we're still finding combinations that play well together," Washington said. "We started one lineup to start the game, but we went with a smaller one pretty quickly that worked a lot better."
This won't be the last time Washington does this, either. By mixing up who is on the floor together, the team becomes comfortable in what could be uncomfortable situations moving forward.
"We will probably have to go with the lineup that's working that night based on matchups and foul issues," said Washington. "It's good that we have a lot of options to go to. We can play big if we need to and we can play small if we need to. As long as we're doing a good job of taking care of the ball and rebounding, like we did today, then I think we'll be alright."
The next task for the Lady Lions is Hartford on the road Wednesday at 7 p.m. before returning home to the BJC to face Rider at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.