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on that winning side. We celebrate win- ners around here." The potential to compete at a national level is what drew Kieger to Penn State in the first place. Six of her new colleagues – Russ Rose, Cael Sanderson, Erica Dambach, Randy Jepson, Mark Pavlik and Wes Glon – have won national champi- onships while coaching Nittany Lion teams. That mattered to Kieger. "Show me your friends, and I'll show you your future; surround yourself with those who are on the same mission as you – those are two things that I've bought into since I was younger," she said. "That's ab- solutely what Penn State does for me. I've had high goals and wanted to coach the best of the best, and this is a platform and an institution where I can do that. So I'm thrilled to be here and be part of that winning culture." The goal now is to transmit that culture to her players. McDaniel is one who has fully bought in. She had been a coveted prospect coming out of Dearborn Heights Robichaud, averaging 30.6 points and 9.0 rebounds per game as a senior and win- ning first-team All-State honors. During her first two seasons at Penn State, she showed glimpses of seemingly vast po- tential, including a 20-point outburst vs. Marshall as a freshman and a career-high 24-point binge at Florida State last sea- son. She was the Lady Lions' leading scorer in their season-ending loss to Wisconsin at the Big Ten tournament this past March, finishing with 16 points. But now, with her junior season under way, she's eager to do more than simply rely on her athletic ability to bring her success. "I made up in my head that that wasn't enough if I wanted to reach my full po- tential, and that's when I started to give everything that I possibly had and just tapped into another level of my effort and my focus," McDaniel said. "I think that's what drove me to see the physical results in my game and actually being open to critiquing and open to seeing what I didn't do as well at, so that I can get bet- ter at it and just try to be the best that I can be. That's been my focus, and I've seen a lot of growth from that." ■ FAVORITES It would be a major upset if anybody other than Maryland were to claim the league's reg- ular-season title. The Terrapins have been thor- oughly dominant since 2014-15, their first season as Big Ten members, winning four regular-season crowns and three tournament championships over the past five years. This season, they welcome back all five starters from a squad that went 29-5. That group includes All-America guard Kaila Charles and sophomore guard Taylor Mikesell, who last season was voted Big Ten Freshman of the Year by the league's coaches. Did we mention that the Terps are also welcoming the na- tion's No. 3 recruiting class to campus? It's a long season, and anything can happen. But Maryland, which was ranked fourth in the Associated Press poll as of this writing, is the overwhelming favorite to repeat as conference champion. DARK HORSES Other than the Terps, everyone is a dark horse. Michigan and Michigan State shared second-place recognition at Big Ten media day, with the coaches choosing the Wolverines and media panelists picking the Spar- tans. Michigan brings back three starters, and one of them is sophomore for- ward Naz Hillmon, who shared Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors with Mikesell last season a

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