UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa- The Penn State Lady Lions 2021-22 basketball season is set to tip off November 9 in the Bryce Jordan Center, and fans are eager to see the product that will hit the floor.
The 2021-22 women's basketball media day revealed that in year three of head coach Carolyn Kieger's tenure to Penn State, things are coming together for the Lady Lions. With a championship culture mindset and consistency in practice, the team is hopeful of a winning season. Representing the Blue and White with pride, the team is confident that they will finally find their way back into the NCAA tournament where they belong.
With the season being set to take place in less than two weeks, here are five of the biggest takeaways from Penn State women's basketball media day.
Consistency is Key
One of the biggest takeaways going into this season for the Lady Lions is consistency. In order to compete with persistent NCAA tournament contenders, the team is focusing on keeping a consistent pace in practice and translating that on the court to see success.
"What sets the top five teams apart right now is consistency," said Kieger on her Big Ten competition. "To put out a product that is consistent everyday not only with effort but with decision making and being able to execute on offense and defense routinely is what we are looking for."
For the team this season, holding everyone accountable in practice is where the consistency is showing. Working as hard as they can and competing with each other at the highest level allows them to see the success they hope for.
"Consistency looks a lot like accountability," said junior Anna Camden. "It's going hard for every single rep and not accepting anything less from each other. When you can get a team to always talk, always communicate at the highest level of energy the consistency will follow."
"It's really important that we make sure we are keeping ourselves accountable," sophomore Ali Brigham. added "If we are not up to par with how well we are playing we get on each other and push each other. It's really competitive but we all make sure we are keeping a level of eliteness every day."
Kelly Jekot Returns
After a devastating ending to her senior season last year when she tore her left ACL in a practice drill, Kelly Jekot decided to return to Penn State for one more season. Her return has coaches and teammates excited and ready to see her on the court.
"She's an inspiration to everybody right now," said Kieger. "She didn't have to come back, she didn't have to fight through her second injury but she did. She did it for the young women on the team. She's been to an NCAA tournament, she's the only one on the team who has, and she wants to help her teammates know what that feels like. You can't get more unselfish than that"
Jekot, now fully recovered from her injury thanks to strength and conditioning coaches and trainers, feels 100 percent in practice and has one goal on her mind.
"At the end of the day I just have so much respect for coach Keiger, this team and this institution Penn State," said Jekot on her decision to return. "It has always been my dream to play here and last year I only unfortunately got to play nine games. I wanted to end on the right note, and I have full confidence that this team will get to the NCAA tournament this year."
Jekot received her bachelor's degree in communications at Villanova, and her master's in the spring in educational leadership. She is now in a graduate certificate program in organizational development and change.
"I aspire to become a college coach one day," said Jekot. "A lot of what I have learned from teaching aligns with coaching, and this is where I have learned a lot of my leadership skills."
Having already pursued her master's and recovered from two ACL injuries, her return to Penn State for this upcoming season is truly inspirational to her teammates and pushes them to work even harder. From watching on the sidelines last year, she became more vocal as a player and has proved herself as a leader and role model for the younger teammates.
Fans in the BJC
For the first time in over a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fans are finally set to return to the Bryce Jordan Center this season, and the team cannot be more excited.
"The atmosphere of fans in the BJC is a game changer," said Kieger. "It was really different playing in front of an empty gym. I don't think you can really put into words what having fans back in the stands is going to do for our morale and for our passion. If we are going to rebuild this team and go on to become a championship-level team, I want the fans to feel like they are doing it with us."
The lack of Nittany Nation in the BJC last season did not go by unnoticed last year, and their return means everything to the Lady Lions. The players are ready to show that group what they missed.
"Our fans are so important to us," added Camden. "While we got to play our season last year, their absence was noticed. The community and the relationship that we are able to have with our fans mean the world to me and I am so grateful we can do that again this season."
Year Three
Coach Kieger described her first two years in Happy Valley as a building process. Now, in year three, she is ready to take the next step. She is excited and hopeful that all of her hard work she has put in these past couple of rebuilding years will pay off this season.
"Year three is the year you really see all of the work you put in," said Kieger. "There's been a lot of blood sweat and tears that have gone into these last few years and I think we are really going to see that take off this year. Everywhere that I have been, year three has been the year that it really comes together and that's what we are hoping to see here."
Kieger is ready to show teams how far they have come since her first year here. She is confident in the trust and relationships that have been built and is eager to see that transpire on the court in helping them succeed. With that said, the program knows it's a process.
"We take things day by day here," said Jekot. "You're not going to go from the bottom of the conference to the top overnight. We try to win each day and move from there."
Championship Culture
One thing to note about the women representing the Blue and White this year is their value of pride. As a team, they collectively agreed this is the year their hard work and dedication will lead them back into the NCAA tournament. With this, their foundation as a team is built on a mindset Kieger likes to call "championship culture."
"Every day here I see coach Kieger's championship culture mindset come into play," said Brigham. "We expect each other to attack every day at 100 percent and if we don't, we hold each other accountable. I think that is what's really special here because we push each other to be the best we can."
Kieger's championship culture mentality pushes the team to strive for success. This mentality is brought to the court every day in practice and the consistency with this mindset will pay off come tip-off.
"Everyone is working on their weaknesses in practice," said junior Makenna Marisa. "Getting in the gym for extra time to work on our weaknesses and that's the biggest thing for us."
By holding each other accountable in practice and building that championship culture mentality, the team is eager to show fans what they've been working on come November 9.
