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to have people around her who are able to produce at the same time," Carter said. "She can't do that all by herself. She won't be able to do that all by herself on a nightly basis. That's a thing that we don't want her to do." A year ago, Page and Carter combined to account for 47 percent of Penn State's points. This season, coach Coquese Washington is hoping to see their pro- duction hold steady while getting bigger contributions from the rest of the team. The Lady Lions have a veteran backcourt, with junior Siyeh Frazier joining the two seniors, and a young but promising front- court featuring sophomores Sam Breen and Alisia Smith and freshmen Lauren Ebo and Bexley Wallace. If those players are able to develop into dependable of- fensive threats, opponents won't be able to fixate quite so intently on Page. "I think the biggest way we can help Teniya is to give her more options and more weapons," Washington said. "It's pretty hard to double- and triple-team when there are other people who are going to make you pay. One of the best ways for her teammates to help her out is to understand how they can be a factor, how they can be a threat, and how they can impact the game. Make it much more challenging for people to key on her, double-team or triple-team her. In practice we work on that, we work on being available, we work on making sure we're in spots where everybody else can be impactful, so it's a matter of replicating that well on game day." One thing Washington won't have to worry about is keeping Page grounded. Her focus on the here-and-now leaves her with little time to dwell on the trappings of success. Said Washington, "She's not somebody who sees herself as a star. She's somebody who is constantly working to improve. She sees her flaws more than she sees the things that everybody else sees. She sees the weaknesses and the areas that she needs to improve in. She's somebody who's always looking to get better. She's always in the gym before and after prac- tice. She's not somebody who has that star mentality, or any kind of diva attitude at all. If anything, she's somebody [to whom] I have to point out, 'You're playing pretty well, can you relax a little bit, you're doing quite well,' because she's going to hone in on the one or two areas that aren't as good as she wants them to be." Page says she's prepared for just about anything opponents could possibly throw at her this season. She's seen all kinds of junk defenses, yet has still found a way to become one of Penn State's all-time lead- ing scorers. So while the team around her evolves and her own game steadily im- proves, Page is relying on the skills and attitude she developed back home in Chicago to help carry her through. "For me," she said, "it's just [a matter of ] sticking to what I know and having con- fidence in my teammates and myself. I feel like it'll be OK." ■ NO NAME POS YR HT HOME SCHOOL 1 Alisia Smith F So. 6-3 Lansing, Mich. Waverly 2 Amari Carter G Sr. 5-8 Washington, D.C. St. John's College 3 Karisma Ortiz G Fr. 6-0 San Jose, Calif. Archbishop Mitty 4 Siyeh Frazier G Jr. 5-9 Detroit, Mich. Renaissance 5 Kamaria McDaniel G So. 5-10 Inkster, Mich. Dearborn Heights Robichaud 11 Teniya Page G Sr. 5-7 Chicago, Ill. Marian Catholic 12 Kayleigh Semion G Sr. 5-6 Dunmore, Pa. Dunmore 22 Leah Knizner G Sr. 5-9 Greensburg, Pa. Hempfield Area 24 Sam Breen F So. 6-1 Gibsonia, Pa. North Catholic 31 Jaida Travascio-Green G Jr. 6-2 Lisle, Ill. Downers Grove North 33 Lauren Ebo F Fr. 6-4 Washington, D.C. Riverdale Baptist 34 Sarah McMurtry G Sr. 5-6 Pittsburgh, Pa. Upper St. Clair 43 Bexley Wallace F Fr. 6-3 Pickerington, Ohio Pickerington Central 2 0 1 8 - 1 9 L A D Y L I O N R O S T E R Lady Lions nip Providence, fall to Cal to open season Penn State rallied past visiting Providence, 74-72, on Nov. 8 to open its season. But three days later, it was Cal that made a late surge en route to a 75-58 victory at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State fought back from a 15-point second-half de6cit against the Friars, with Sam Breen provid- ing the winning points on a pair of free throws with 0.4 seconds le7. Against the 24th-ranked Golden Bears, the Lady Lions were out- scored 42-29 in the second half. ■

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