UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State junior Jaida Travascio-Green notched five points with one 3-pointer on December 28, against No.4 Maryland in the Lady Lions Big Ten opener.
Many watching did not realize the significance of her return, but it was Travascio-Green's first appearance after tearing her ACL last March prior to the Lady Lion's NIT game, and was a big milestone in her grueling recovery.
The knee injury that has become all too common among athletes set Travascio-Green on a frustrating journey, still grinding to get back to what she considers full strength.
"The last 10 percent is always the hardest because you're still gaining the refinement of what you can do," Travascio-Green said. "I can run and jump and do all that but getting back to shots that I normally would've made in games I don't make, or plays where I used to slide fast enough I am a half second behind."
Following surgery, it was a struggle at first to do things normal people take for granted, such as just walking to class for a Penn State student.
While it wasn't always easy for Travascio-Green, her head coach Coquese Washington never saw any frustration and was inspired by her mindset.
"She was always really focused on when I come back and once I'm ready to play," Washington said. "Every milestone that she had like now you can go a little full court, now you can go 2-on-2 she attacked it."
Some of the toughest moments for Travascio-Green came early once the season started, locked on the bench watching her teammates compete. During that time she continued to focus on her individual improvements and how she would be able to impact the team upon her return.
Lucky for Travascio-Green, she did not have to attack this journey alone, heaping praise on her support system and teammates for keeping her going.
"It's tough but my team is so excited and I have a really good support system outside of here, with my family and my friends," she said. "It's difficult and it's still in the difficult phase I think but the people around me make it a lot easier."
Travascio-Green is best known as knock-down 3-point shooter leading the team with 71 triples in 2017-18. However, there are many other aspects that Washington has been anticipating in her return to the rotation.
"Her presence is unbelievable," Washington said. "We all know she is an outstanding 3-point shooter and she spreads the floor and the defense definitely has to account for her. There are other things that she does that maybe don't show up in the stat sheet like her experience, her communication, her defense, her length and her ability to rebound the ball. Just having another experienced player out there certainly adds to our execution on both ends."
The recovery process isn't quite over yet according to Travascio-Green, who is still looking for the final 10 percent of her game return.
While her mentality hasn't missed a beat, Travascio-Green thinks physically her game is still on the rebound.
"It's just getting back to being more refined and it's a hard process especially when you are jumping right into playing the best competition that we play all season," she said. "It's all about just getting the rust off and that's the phase I'm in right now."
She may be the only person to feel that way however, as point guard Amari Carter thinks despite the hesitation to claim a 100 percent return by Travascio-Green, her game can still translate to a huge difference in Big Ten play.
"It's fun having her back," Carter said. "She's been out for a while and it's just fun having her back on the court, getting her acclimated to everything. With her game really you can't tell what was different. It's good that it really looks the same to me. She's confident and she shoots the ball the same and all those things and it's really fluid."
Travascio-Green and her teammates will look to use that confidence and presence as the Lady Lions battle during the second half stretch of the regular season.
