Oct. 25, 2017
Penn State Women's Basketball
Media Day -- Student-Athletes
Oct. 25, 2017
De'Janae Boykin | F | Jr. | #35
Q: How or where has the team grown the most during this offseason?
DB: I think that off the court our chemistry is really good. We all get along, we all love each other, we all like each other a lot. On the court I think we all stepped up in many ways. We're a young team but we're pretty smart too.
Q: What are some of your goals for the upcoming year?
DB: Our goal is to exceed expectations and move forward from last year and just do better overall.
Q: How competitive is playing in the Big Ten? Why do you think that?
DB: For me, I've only played like three games in the Big Ten since I've been here but it's a very competitive league and I look forward to seeing it this year.
Q: You were 16-2 in the Bryce Jordan Center last season, what enabled you all to play so well at home and is that something you feel you can replicate this season?
DB: I think this season we're looking to win them all, no losses. Last year was motivation for us and we're looking to build off of that.
Sam Breen | F | Fr. | #24
Q: What are you looking forward most as this season approaches? And anything specific you are looking forward to working on specifically in the exhibition game and the first couple games this season?
SB: Being a freshman, I'm really looking forward to just be able to play at the collegiate level. I think the team has really been focusing a lot on working on our defense. Specifically ball screen defense, help defense, and everything like that. So we will see how that goes during those games.
Q: Being a freshman what has been the biggest change coming into the college game?
SB: Probably the lifting that is involved. It's been a big change because in high school I didn't really lift too much. I did sometimes on my own but never really lifted as a team. So lifting from four to five days a week now has been a change but I've gotten used to it since the summer.
Q: Have you been doing a lot of help with the community and how important is that to you? What have you learned from participating in that?
SB: Being a freshman I've only done a few things so far, but each time I do it just gives you a good feeling knowing that you are helping people out.
Q: What are some of your goals for the upcoming year?
SB: Personally my biggest goal is to get better on defense and have quicker feet.
Q: How competitive do you think playing in the Big Ten this year as freshman will be and what are you expecting?
SB: I'm really excited actually. I don't know what to expect but no game is going to be easy so we can't take anything lightly coming into this season.
Amari Carter | G | Jr. | #2
Q: How or where has the team grown the most during the offseason?
AC: I would say a combination of chemistry and confidence because we are getting to know each other. We are learning how each other plays, knowing what each other likes to do, what shots they like, when they like to pass, how they like to pass and learning the offense. When you are comfortable in the offense you have more confidence in running it to perfection and the standard we want to keep.
Q: What are some of your goals for the upcoming season?
AC: Personally, I want to be more consistent in my play and lead my team better. We had little ups and downs during a couple of the games during the season last year and my play. I want to be a better scorer, make sure I hit the open teammate, knock down the easy shots when I can and make sure when we get down or too high I can help us be more well-rounded.
Q: With all the resources you have as a student-athlete here at Penn State, what is one thing that you utilize the most to help you be successful on and off the court?
AC: The Morgan Academic Center. The Morgan Center is great, you go over there to study, my tutor is over there, the student welfare, Charmelle [Green], Keith [Embray], Liz [Johnson], and SAAB. The Morgan Center is the best; it's just a hub of information.
Q: How competitive is playing in the Big Ten, and why do you think that is?
AC: Because you never know on any night who's going to come out and try to get 30 (points) or set a career high. I think there are a lot of people in our conference who are capable of doing that, coming out any night and leading their team to victory. There's always an upset in the Big Ten, I think that's a good part of it to keep it competitive.
Q: You were 16-2 in the Bryce Jordan Center last season, what enabled you all to play so well at home? Is that something that you can try and duplicate this season?
AC: I definitely think that's something we want to duplicate, we want to protect our home court. Having the fans behind you, like when you go down, or if you're a little dry or not shooting the ball well, it gives you a good boost of confidence when you're playing at home. You said we were 16-2 at home, I didn't know that until the end of last year, and I realize how much that helped us and we have to be able to take that energy on the road when we play as well.
Kamaria McDaniel | G | Fr. | #5
Q: Where has the team grown the most during the off season?
KM: We've definitely grown in terms of playing with each other and getting a feel for everyone else's game and bringing energy every day. We've grown in just being positive, and working hard every single day. We've also grown physically in terms of working out. We had great workouts over the summer.
Q: How have you grown individually as a player?
KM: I've definitely grown in the weight room. Brad [Pantall] has done a great job of helping me get stronger and things like that. Having these great coaches I've definitely grown as a player too learning from all of the coaches on staff.
Q: What are some of your goals for the upcoming season?
KM: My goals for the upcoming season are to do what the coaches ask me to do and whatever they need me to do to help the team win. I'm all about team success and whatever I can do to help that is what I'll do. My goal is to play my role the best I can.
Q: With all the resources you have as a student-athlete here at Penn State, what is one thing you utilize the most to help you be successful on and off the court?
KM: Definitely the people around me. We're surrounded by great people, Coach Co [Coquese Washington], all of our assistants, our academic advisor. Having the Morgan Academic Center and being able to go there and talk to somebody is very nice. If I have any questions I know there's a person that can answer any question I have. I feel very comfortable on and off the court with the resources in terms of people that I can reach out to for help.
Q: How competitive is playing in the Big Ten, and why do you think that is?
KM: Playing in the Big Ten is competitive because we have some of the greatest players in the country. I think that's why it's so competitive, and everybody is so close so it could be personal at times. Little rivalry and stuff like that. I know a lot of the players in the Big Ten so it's competitive because you know them and you always want to win.
Teniya Page | G | Jr. | #11
Q: Dealing with an injury here, what has that been like for you and some of the struggles you've had during this offseason?
TP: It's been a long process but I've been getting through it. I was fortunate enough to be able to go home after surgery so that helped a lot. I've just been getting through it. Obviously this is my first major injury and first major surgery that I have ever had, but I have been getting through pretty well.
Q: Has it been tough for you to sit on the sidelines and watch this team evolve without you or has it been an easy transition since you were a leader last year as well?
TP: It's actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. I think it's easy because I like to watch basketball a lot so for me just watching my teammates when I can isn't that bad.
Q: What have you learned from this team from being able to watch them and what do you expect when you start getting in the mix as well?
TP: People are giving effort all the time and everyone works really hard. There is never a feeling that we have to do this just because I'm not playing, it's because we're going to go out and give everything we have regardless of what happened and give a lot of effort.
Q: When you are forced to watch, what kind of role do you take? Are you more of a cheerleader, an extra coach, what kind of role do you fill?
TP: I kind of have been the extra coach and the cheerleader. Sometimes coach will say 'We have another assistant coach here with us today,' jokingly. But once I started doing more stuff I took the cheerleader role because I need to continue to progress in rehab but at the same time I need to be able to look out for my teammates. I may not be able to speak as much as to what they are doing but just being on the sidelines and just cheering for them during drills and scrimmages is what I have been doing.
Q: Teniya, talking about how you said you've never had to deal with this (injury) before, is it going to make it a little more special once you get back out there on the court because you kind of had it taken away from you?
TP: I believe so. It is still kind of early to tell for me, with school and getting acclimated to doing things a different way, but I became more appreciative just to be able to walk and run and just help myself do things. Eventually though, I will get to the point that I will be but right now it's just too early to tell.
Alisia Smith | F | Fr. | #1
Q: Where has the team grown the most during the offseason?
AS: We've grown a lot during the offseason and getting better especially in defense. We've been working together as a team more and we have a lot of good players so we have grown a lot.
Q: What are some of your goals for the upcoming year?
AS: As a team, our goals are to play every game out one-by-one and perform well in every game. Another goal for the team is to execute defense really well because we work a lot on defense so it's been a major point of ours this season. Personal goals that I have as a freshman are just getting All-American this year.
Q: With all of the resources you have as a student-athlete at Penn State, what is one thing that you utilized the most to help you be a successful on and off the court?
AS: One thing that I personally use the most is the Morgan Center. It's where the student-athletes go to study and do homework. I use that a lot and go to my academic advisor, Kellynn [Wilson], and she helps with all my schoolwork. I get a lot of good grades and utilize the tutors that we get as well.
Q: How competitive is playing in the Big Ten? Why is it that you think that?
AS: It is very competitive. We have a lot of great teams competing in the Big Ten conference. A lot of good and big players come into the Big Ten that we have to face, and they are very talented.
Jaida Travascio Green | F | Fr. | #31
Q: Coming off last season, you guys had a lot of momentum with a postseason run, so what does that do for you going into this year?
JTG: We had a lot of people come back this year as I'm sure you can tell by the roster, so we have a lot of experience. I think we have more than we even thought because we do have a lot of people back, we did make a good run getting to the third round and so it was more bringing in our freshmen and getting them involved. They've been doing great this season so I think we're going in with a really good pace and I think we're going to be very good.
Q: Has it all been challenging with a youthful team, sort of holding things back because you don't want it to be so challenging for the freshmen but also balancing it so you guys get challenged who have been here before?
JTG: I wouldn't say it's been too bad. The freshmen we have this year have been doing a really good job of adjusting. After the summer, we come off of six weeks of being at home so everybody returning, including the freshmen, need a little refresher on the things that we've been doing. I think slowing it down isn't the best word, I think just adapting to everyone and how they play is the best way to describe it. I think the freshmen are adjusting really well.
Q: Individually, what are you doing to raise your leadership here?
JTG: Coming back this year, I do have some experience. It's nice not to be a freshman anymore and having that title tied to you. I've just been trying to use the experience that I've gained to help the freshmen and to help everybody. Our team chemistry is really great this year so we have a lot of energy.
Q: What have you seen from the freshman so far at practice?
JTG: Our freshmen are really good at doing everything they can to be involved and stay involved at practice. They are really easily coached, obviously everybody gets yelled at and everyone makes mistakes but they have really caught on fast. Faster than I did as a freshman, I know that as a fact so that's been really great to see.
Q: So now that you are no longer a freshman, what do you tell them as advice to help them grow and develop in this sport?
JTG: One of the biggest things that [Coquese Washington] actually told me last year is that everybody tells you that the game is faster once you get to college but you don't realize how much faster it is until you get here. She told me around this time last season, that it's really fast and it feels all over the place now but in December and January it's going to slow down and it's going to feel normal. I think some of the freshmen are getting to that point where it's starting to slow down a little bit but just reminding them that it's going to slow down eventually is probably the biggest thing I tell them.