Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/115002
WOMEN���S BASKETBALL RISE AND SHINE A determined senior class spearheads the Lady Lions��� rejuvenation | M arisa Wolfe remembers being filled with trepidation when she headed off to college four years ago. ���I didn���t say a word the entire ride,��� she said. ���I couldn���t eat a thing, I was so nervous.��� Freshmen are often anxious about the prospect of leaving home, and the newest members of the Penn State women���s basketball team understood they were facing a challenge when they arrived on campus in 2009. A lot was riding on their success. Two years before their arrival, the Lady Lions were 13-18. The year after that, they were 1118. No one wanted to see that trend continue. Wolfe, a forward from Ford City, Pa., was the only in-state player in the freshman class. The others who were set to join the Lady Lions were guards Alex Bentley of Indianapolis and Gizelle Studevent of La Jolla, Calif., and center Nikki Greene of Diboll, Texas. The class was recognized by ESPN HoopGurlz as the nation���s 14th best, and the rookies helped Penn State to a 1714 record in their first season. Greene started every game as a freshman, and Bentley took over as the team���s point guard. Studevent and Wolfe came off the bench. The rookies helped Penn State finish 17-14 that year, the Lady Lions��� best finish in coach Coquese Washington���s three seasons. The following year, Boston College transfer Mia Nickson became eligible to play, and despite their youth, the Lady Lions advanced to the championship game of the Big Ten tournament. Their opponent in the title game was Ohio State. ���I definitely remember it,��� Greene said. ���We were all excited to be there, the finals and all that.��� Facing an opponent with two players who would go on to play in the WNBA, Penn State lost, 84-70. ���I didn���t know how to compete the way Coquese wanted,��� Greene said. ���I was getting more frustrated about my mistakes and hesitant about what my team wanted, so I felt like I wasn���t contributing.��� The season ended with a disappointing second-round loss to DePaul in the NCAA tournament, but the Lady Lions were laying the groundwork for future success. With Nickson���s arrival, Greene got the help she needed in the frontcourt. And at the same time, Nick-