Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1430714
1 4 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M PSU Women's Basketball Great Kahadeejah Herbert Dies Kahadeejah Herbert, one of the most pro- lific scorers and rebounders in Penn State women's basketball history, died in early No- vember in Dayton, Ohio. She was 58. A member of the Lady Lions from 1981- 85, Herbert led Penn State to three Atlantic 10 championships and four NCAA Tourna- ment appearances, in- cluding the program's first appearance in 1982. "It's a very sad day for the Penn State wom- en's basketball community," Lady Lions head coach Carolyn Kieger said. "Our deepest con- dolences go out to the Herbert family and friends. Kahadeejah will be deeply missed by many, but her legacy will live on in our program and at Penn State." Herbert grew up in Willingboro, N.J., and took up sports at the urging of her neighbors, Bill and Evelyn Lewis, parents of Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis. She played basketball her junior and senior years at Willingboro High, excelling as a center, and was recruited by then-Penn State head coach Rene Port- land. Herbert went on to become the first Penn State player to surpass 2,000 career points and 1,000 rebounds. (Only one other PSU player, Susan Robinson, has done so in the years since.) She was a Wade Trophy final- ist in 1985 and won A-10 Player of the Year honors that season. Herbert remains the program's all-time leader in career rebounds with 1,103 and ranks sixth in points (2,026), second in rebounding average (8.8), 11th in assists (224) and 16th in blocks (81). Herbert led the Lady Lions in scoring each of her first three seasons and led the team in rebounds all four years. She was a Street & Smith's honorable mention All-American in 1984-85 and also competed with the U.S. Select Team in 1985. Following her Penn State career, Herbert worked as an engineer and project manager at AT&T, helping develop the company's U- verse digital television service. She stayed with the company until her retirement in 2020. Herbert was also known for her volunteer work in the Dayton area, including with the Dayton Honor Flight, which was a flight for local veterans. She is survived by her daughter, Ameerah, and grandson, Isaiah. PENN STATE'S TOP PERFORMERS Ali Brigham — Women's Basketball A transfer from George Washington, Brigham got off to a blazing start with the Lady Lions. The 6-foot-4 sophomore forward from Franklin, Mass., led the team in scoring in its first two games. She had 20 points in Penn State's season-opening 85-66 victory over LIU, adding nine rebounds and three blocks. Two nights later, she followed up her solid debut with a 23-point effort in an 83-69 win over Rider. Brigham combined to hit 19 of 26 attempts (73.1 percent) from the floor in the two nonconference games. Before transferring to Penn State, she enjoyed an outstanding debut season with the Colo- nials, averaging 11.9 points per game on 50.4 percent shooting, the fourth-best field goal percentage among all Division I freshmen last season. Julie Gough — Women's Ice Hockey When the Nittany Lions defeated visiting Lindenwood 4-1 on Nov. 6, Gough tied a Penn State record with her third-period power play goal. It was the seventh consecutive game in which the junior forward from Newcastle, Ontario, scored a goal for the Nit- tany Lions, tying a mark set by former Penn State player Shannon Yoxheimer, who did the same during the 2012-13 season. Through Penn State's first 12 games, Gough was tied with one of her team- mates, senior forward Natalie Heising, for second in the College Hockey America conference with her seven goals. As a team, Penn State was pacing the CHA with an average of 3.08 goals per game. A year ago, Gough helped PSU clinch its first CHA regular-season championship with a hat trick in a 5-0 win over RIT. Peter Mangione — Men's Soccer Mangione, a sophomore from Hunt Valley, Md., was named the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year after a regular season in which he scored six goals and added a pair of assists. Half of those goals came in a single game, with Mangione's hat trick lifting Penn State past Villanova 4-0 on Sept. 21. Following the announcement of his award, he had a goal against Michigan State and an assist against Michigan in the first two rounds of the Big Ten Tournament. A forward and midfielder for the Nittany Lions, Mangione has been an impact player since the start of his college career. He scored six goals dur- ing Penn State's 2021 spring season, winning first-team all-conference honors and claiming a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman team. Mangione is the first Nittany Lions player since Connor Maloney in 2014 to be named the league's Offensive Player of the Year. Sam Sessoms — Men's Basketball After spending last season as a reliable sixth man for the Nit- tany Lions, the 6-foot senior guard was in the starting lineup for this year's opener against Youngstown State and sparked a 75-59 victory on Nov. 15 in Micah Shrewsberry's debut as head coach. Sessoms scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half and added a game-high eight assists along with five rebounds and a pair of steals. Sessoms came to Penn State last year after playing his first two seasons at Binghamton. The Philadelphia native was a prolific scorer for the Bearcats, scoring 1,151 points during his time there, and he continued to shine last year with the Lions, scoring in double figures in his first seven games with the team. — Matt Herb