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league where, from top to bottom, there are no gimmes." The Lady Lions have a lot of work ahead of them as they look to transition from their three-year championship run to a new era in which underclassmen and newcomers will be called on to play major roles. With Maggie Lucas, Ariel Edwards, Dara Taylor and Talia East gone, Penn State has lost 56.5 points and 20.5 re- bounds per game from last season. Its leading returnee is forward Tori Waldner, who started all 32 games a year ago and averaged 4.8 points and 5.6 rebounds. Aside from Waldner, the only player to have started a game for the Lady Lions last year was center Candice Agee, who started three. So where are the points going to come from? "We're still working on that," Wash- ington said in early November. "We've only been practicing for three weeks, so give us a little bit more time. We're still going to run and play up-tempo. We still want to score in transition. We want to get out and run. We want to be a fun and exciting team to [watch]." Some of the needed production will come from last year's highly regarded freshman class. Kaliyah Mitchell, Peyton Whitted, Alex Harris, Keke Sevillian and Jenny DeGraaf played supporting roles in their 4rst season on campus, combining for 11.7 points per game, and they'll need to boost their production this year. Also, the Lady Lions will be expecting big things from two players who didn't see action last season: point guard Lindsey Spann and two guard Sierra Moore. Spann red- shirted as a true freshman while recovering from a knee injury, while Moore sat out a6er transferring from Duke. Both were chosen captains (along with Waldner, the team's only senior). It was a vote of con- 4dence but also a measure of just how thorough the overhaul has been. Washington said during preseason camp that while the personnel has changed, the expectations have not. "I've learned that from Russ Rose," she said, referring to Penn State's uber-successful women's volleyball coach. "He tends to win cham- pionships like I eat popcorn, so I listen when he talks." And yet, while the team shoots for the stars, it must keep its feet planted 4rmly in reality. And the reality is that Penn State has entered a rebuilding phase just as its competition is about to get even tougher. With two powerhouse Eastern programs joining the conference, it would be a surprise if Penn State were to win a fourth consecutive Big Ten championship. But Washington has responded to the challenge by striving to improve her own program. Maryland and Rutgers, she said, are "go- ing to make our conference more com- petitive. I think it'll make for exciting bas- ketball games and an exciting conference race – two more teams that play di5erent styles but have been highly successful. It gives our fans some more exciting bas- ketball to watch right here in the Bryce Jordan Center." ■ Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Hey Sports Fans ...Get 15% Off your hotel stay! 15% discount lioncountrylodging.com When travelling ...think of us in Carlisle! Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Hey Spor Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê ts Fans ...Get Hey Spor Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê ts Fans ...Get 15% Off your hotel stay! Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê your hotel stay! Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê your hotel stay! Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê 1 Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê 5 % d i s c o u n t Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê When travelling ...think of us in Carlisle! Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê When travelling ...think of us in Carlisle! Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê When travelling ...think of us in Carlisle! lioncou Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê When travelling ...think of us in Carlisle! untrylodging.com Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê When travelling ...think of us in Carlisle! Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê When travelling ...think of us in Carlisle! Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê When travelling ...think of us in Carlisle! Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê When travelling ...think of us in Carlisle! Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê

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