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member of the nation's most celebrated program. With guard Sierra Moore set to miss the upcoming season due to a knee injury, the Lady Lions will need points and leadership. Banks is in a position to help supply both. As Washington said following the exhibition game against California, "She needs [to be] a presence like she was out there today. She has mo- ments where she takes over the game, and I think she'll continue to 2nd her rhythm out there and continue to 2nd her way to be that presence on both ends of the 3oor. "But I'll say this: I don't see that pressure on one person. I think we have a lot more options. This year we have really balanced scoring and just as importantly, we have balanced shot opportunities. I think the balance is going to be critical for us. We can't become a one-dimensional team and rely heavily on one player. The fresh- men and the returners that we have are balanced and we're solid on the defensive end." The Lady Lions know quite well the kind of impact a talented transfer can have. Two years ago, Moore enrolled at Penn State a5er one unful2lling season at Duke. She made her debut last season, 2nishing as the team's second-leading scorer with an average of 12.1 points per game. With three collegiate seasons on her re- sume, Banks may be poised to make an even smoother transition to the Big Ten than Moore did last year. "Sierra trans- ferred a5er her freshman year and had very limited minutes [at Duke] and it was almost like she was a freshman," Wash- ington said. "Brianna has played for three years and has been a contributor and has played at a high level and won a lot of games. So I don't think it's a comparison that is easy to make." Maybe not, but there is one respect in which their career paths run parallel. Said Washington, "Sierra came in and was an impact player for us, and Brianna will be an impact player for us, as well. They both bring athleticism, a competitiveness that we like and that helps our team. I think Brianna has done a fantastic job, and I think our fans are really going to enjoy watching her play." ■ Penn State su4ered a big setback last month when junior guard Sierra Moore went down with a knee injury during practice. Moore, who was the only player to start every game a year ago, will miss the season with a torn anterior cru- ciate ligament. "That will be a bit of a blow for us," coach Co- quese Washington said, "but it will give some of our younger players an opportunity to step up and be more involved early in the season." Moore was the Lady Lions' second- leading scorer as a redshirt sopho- more, averaging 12.1 points per game. She played more minutes than any Penn State player (34.1 per game) and led the team in assists with 116. She was also one of the Lady Lions' three captains even though she was in her 2rst season of eligibility a5er transfer- ring to Penn State in 2013 following one season at Duke. The Lady Lions landed a pair of guards in their highly ranked 2015 re- cruiting class: Teniya Page and Amari Carter. In their 84-58 exhibition vic- tory over California (Pa.) earlier this month, Page was in the starting lineup and 2nished with a team-leading 10 assists, seven points and six rebounds in 31 minutes, while Carter played 18 minutes and 2nished with two points. Washington said she's been pleased with how her freshman class – which also includes center Ashanti Thomas and forward Jaylen Williams – has transitioned to the college game. "They have been fantastic," she said. "I think they're de2nitely going to have a major role on our team this year. All of them have picked up on things fairly quickly and they're very coachable. They do a great job of try- ing to do things that are outside of their comfort zone, which you some- times don't get from a younger player. Whatever you ask these four to do, they try to do. They're really not afraid to mess up. They're trying to learn new skills and new techniques and trying to build new habits. They've been fun to coach, and I anticipate them having a major impact on our team this year." Lady Lions adapt to new game format Starting this season, women's col- lege basketball games will consist of four 10-minute quarters rather than two 20-minute halves. The change was approved in June by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel in the hope that it will "enhance the 3ow of the game." Washington doesn't see it having a signi2cant e4ect on strategy. "It means one less media timeout per half," she said. "This year we only have four [team] timeouts with three carrying over, as opposed to the past when we had 2ve and four could carry over. I do think it helps if you're a team that has a smaller rotation, because you get more built-in breaks. I think it could be helpful in that sense. It de2- nitely could bring a di4erent 3ow and feel to the game, and I think that's something our fans will have to get used to. I think the game will be a little bit faster, with 10-minute quarters and fewer timeouts. That was one of the rationales behind making the L A D Y L I O N N O T E B O O K B Y M A T T H E R B Moore to miss 2015-16 season with knee injury MOORE

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