Blue White Illustrated

Uncertainty reigns as Lions eye shortened season Penn State won at Minnesota for the first time since February 2012 when it defeated the Gophers, 69-60, on Jan. 10 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. The victory, in which Kelly Jekot, Johnasia Cash and Maddie Burke all scored in double figures, was Penn State's first Big Ten win of the season and its first conference road win since Carolyn Kieger took over the program in 2019. Kieger, who grew up in nearby Ro- seville, Minn., was thrilled with the team's performance, which included 15 points from Jekot and 14 points and 12 rebounds from Cash, who played 29 minutes before fouling out in the fourth quarter. "Getting your first Big Ten win on the road is huge," she said. "[It's] extra spe- cial when it's in my hometown, which is awesome. I'm very thankful for the team and how they performed today." The Lady Lions were 4-6 and 1-5 in the Big Ten following a 67-50 loss to 22nd-ranked Northwestern on Jan. 17. Five of the team's first 10 games were against ranked opponents. –M.H. PSU ends skid with victory at Minnesota P enn State's wrestling lineup is as un- certain as its schedule at this point, but if and when the season does begin, defending Big Ten champion Aaron Brooks promises that it will be another good one. "I think we can be really good," Brooks said on the Nittany Lions' media day, which took place one day before they were forced to postpone their Jan. 16 opener at 15th-ranked Rutgers due to COVID-19 cases within their team. "I think we can win five national champi- onships. Our team is really young, but I believe that everyone has what it takes to get the job done." The global pandemic that forced the cancellation of last season's NCAA cham- pionships has prompted plenty of changes. For one, the season began in early January instead of the first week of November. There will be no fans, other than family. This is a free year of eligibility for athletes, courtesy of the NCAA. And wrestlers must compete in just four bouts to be eligible to qualify for NCAAs; that number is typically 17. If a wrestler has four or more matches on his record W R E S T L I N G Penn State has title hopes, but positive COVID tests force postponement of opener at Rutgers 12.1 points per game and was first in re- bounding with 7.9 boards per game. She had 19 points and a career-high 17 re- bounds in an 85-64 loss to Indiana on Jan. 7, and she followed that perform- ance with another double-double, to- taling 14 points and 12 rebounds in a 69-60 win at Minnesota on Jan. 10. "She's buying in," Kieger said. "We've been working all season on what our culture looks like and what the appro- priate body language looks like during success and during adversity, and I think she's doing a great job with trying to uphold the standard and doing what it takes to keep her head in a mental space to be able to compete. Against Minnesota, she had some adversity. She got injured, she was in foul trouble, but she still was able to produce. I think that shows a lot of growth for her." Cash had been a key contributor at SMU, starting 55 of the 87 games in which she played during her three sea- sons with the Mustangs and averaging 7.6 points and 7.3 rebounds. But the McKeesport, Pa., native was publicly critical of the school's approach to player safety amid the pandemic and wanted to be closer to home. So, on the heels of a junior season in which she ranked third in the American Athletic Conference in rebounding (9.4 rpg) and 20th in scoring (11.1 ppg), Cash entered the transfer portal. At Penn State, she had no expectation of seeing action her first year on cam- pus, much less emerging almost imme- diately as one of the team's top players. Her plan was to sit out in accordance with the customary transfer rules and prepare for her debut in 2021-22. But when the NCAA ruled that the 2020-21 season wouldn't count against athletes' eligibility cap, she applied for a waiver, thinking she had nothing to lose. That waiver was later approved. As of mid-January, she had started eight of the Lady Lions' nine games and was av- eraging 21.8 minutes per game, third- most on the team. Cash, who is a cousin of former Con- necticut All-American and WNBA great Swin Cash, said she has embraced her role as a veteran leader on a team with eight freshmen. And for her, being a leader has meant using her energetic personality to help bring out the best in her teammates. "One thing I can say that I brought to this team is true passion," Cash said. "I feel like my energy is contagious. When I'm positive and I'm up and I'm hype, everyone is positive, and they're up and they're hype. I feel like I can change the energy in the room. I walk in and it's just a different vibe. That's one thing I can say that I brought to this team – a bunch of passion and fun." ■ BY JIM CARLSON Blue White Contributor

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