Penn State women’s basketball hosted its media day on Tuesday as the team prepares for the upcoming college basketball season.
The Lady Lions season is steadily approaching, but with nine new players and only four returners, coach Carolyn Kieger says one local player has helped with the development of the team
“She’s growing in a lot of different ways. But the biggest thing is her IQ. She’s got a phenomenal basketball IQ, and she’s learned how to share it. And she’s solving problems before they occur,”
Former Bellwood-Antis standout Alli Campbell is entering her fifth season of college hoops, and her fourth with Penn State.
Head coach Carolyn Kieger says the guard has emerged as a leader this year.
“Her first couple of years, she was such a leader by example. She was a culture driver, but now she’s really stepping outside of her comfort zone to be that person who holds people accountable.”
“We’ve talked a lot about setting the tone and the standard every day, holding them accountable to our culture and just sharing our IQ and our knowledge with them to prevent mistakes before they happen,”
Of the five freshmen on the team, Jill Jekot enrolled early, giving her time to practice and travel with the team last year.
“I talk to coach Kieger all the time and she would say, ‘you’re a freshman, but you’re a returner.’ So, you have to bring that experience to this team and help build the chemistry that way,”
With the addition of four former PAC-12 teams, Penn State will visit the west coast this season for some Big Ten play.
“Honestly, we’re all super excited. Personally, I’ve never been to LA, so I think that it’s kind of going to feel like AAU going that far. But it’s going to be a super fun experience. I think we’re all super excited, more ready for the challenge than anything,”
The Lady Lions are set to tip off their season on November 4th, hosting Bucknell.
