Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1332070
| J ohnasia Cash knew what she was getting into when she transferred from SMU to Penn State in August. Cash, a 6-foot-2 forward, knew that the Lady Lions were in the early stages of a thorough rebuild under second-year coach Carolyn Kieger. She also knew, be- cause she had been through a similar experience with the Mustangs, that there were going to be growing pains. It might seem as though Penn State's situation was exactly the sort of thing that a senior transfer with one year of eligibility remaining would be looking to avoid. But to Cash, Penn State's youth and inexperience weren't deterrents. If anything, they were just the op- posite. "Having one year of eligibility didn't scare me or anything like that, and another thing that didn't scare me was the fact that it was a young team," Cash said. "I was a part of a rebuild at my last institution. On my last team, we were the youngest team in the country. "I actually liked being part of a rebuild. Even if I'm not the one who wins a championship, I can [say], hey, we started that culture there. We started that new cul- ture, and their win in the NCAA championships is our win, too. We were there, we started that, we initiated that. I always wanted to be part of that. Even if we're not the ones to win that championship, I know that down the road, the team that does win that championship, they're going to be so happy, and I'm going to be so happy for them." Cash has helped Penn State start down that path. Through nine games, she was third on the team in scoring at W O M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L IN ON THE GROUND FLOOR CASHING IN One of only three for- wards on Penn State's roster, Cash was third on the team in scor- ing through nine games and first in rebounding. Photo courtesy of Penn State Ath- letics Transfer forward Johnasia Cash relishes her opportunity to help Carolyn Kieger build a winning culture at PSU