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State with only one season of eligibility remaining, but the NCAA is granting athletes in the winter sports an extra year be- cause of the pandemic, so Jekot could potentially re- turn for the 2021-22 sea- son. She hasn't thought much about that possibil- ity, though. For now, she's just happy to be playing basketball again after a nearly two-year hiatus. "I've been out for a while," she said. "I've had to be really patient. I just know that playing this game is something that I should not take for granted, because it can be taken from you at any given point. Every day, I wake up and I'm super ex- cited to attack the day and whatever is in front of me. And I'm also motivated by this experience, coming to Penn State, because I never thought I would be here. When I was at Villanova, I thought I would be there for my four years. But things change, and I'm really excited to have this opportunity to play for Coach Kieger and her staff, and I've met so many great teammates, and I'm just really excited for what this opportu- nity has to offer me." ■ WRESTLING Big Ten said to be eyeing January start While there has been no official word from the NCAA or the Big Ten about whether a college wrestling season that has been delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic will begin in Jan- uary, schedules from a handful of teams in three athletic conferences have been announced. That does not include Penn State, or any team in the Big Ten; the Nittany Lions had not released a sched- ule or a roster for the 2020-21 season (now just 2021) as of Dec. 16. However, Penn State coach Cael Sanderson confirmed published re- ports in November that said ground- work had been laid for a season that would begin during the first week of January; teams would be permitted six competition dates for a total of nine conference-only dual meets. The slate would include one tri-meet, in which teams would wrestle two duals, and one quadrangular, in which teams each would compete three times. The other four dates would be individual dual meets. Sanderson thought it was important that his wrestlers spend time with their families over the holiday break. Between that and possible quarantin- ing, if necessary, uncertainty remains around pinning down the actual start of a dual-meet schedule. Penn State also is scheduled to host the Big Ten Conference championship tournament March 6-7 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Because it's unlikely that fans will be permitted in large gatherings by that date, Penn State has requested that the tournament be held at a neutral site and that the Lions be the hosts next year. "It's unlikely at this time that the Big Ten is going to let us do that, just be- cause of all of the financial concerns and everything going on in the confer- ence right now," Sanderson said in early November. –JIM CARLSON VETERAN LEADER Jekot was pacing the Lady Lions in scoring through four games with a 14.8-point av- erage. She was also pulling down 7.5 re- bounds per game. Photo courtesy of Penn State Athletics

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