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has two seasons of experience in the highly competitive Atlantic Coast Con- ference. Playing under pressure has never been a problem for Taylor. Caldwell recalled a state tournament game dur- ing Taylor's senior year. "We were down 14 points with 17 seconds left in the first half," she said. "Dara went on a one-man steal-and-scoring spree, scor- ing eight points in 17 seconds. We went into the locker room down by only six and had all the momentum." Caravel eventually won the game. Taylor also netted the winning free throws in her rookie season when Maryland won at Wake Forest. "I don't know if I won the game," she said. "I may have sealed it." The NCAA's new rules for 2012-13 include an emphasis on cutting the duration of games. No question, Taylor brings skills to the Lady Lions that will change the pace of a contest. But she's working hard to use her speed in a way that helps teammates rather than forcing them to play at a tempo they can't maintain. "Everybody knows I can go fast," she said. "I'm fast. My fast is going to be pretty much a lot faster than other people's fast." Washington is teaching Taylor to adapt her speed to the moment. "One of the things we have been working with Dara on is using 'change of speed' more, as opposed to just pure speed," the coach said. "If she can get the de- fense somewhat relaxed and then ex- plode into hyperspeed, especially when she changes direction, she will really be a problem for opposing defenses." Taylor has been receptive to Wash- ington's message. "She's saying I could slow down and be under control and make great decisions and kind of keep at a pace where my teammates can follow and be with me but still have that extra burst I can kick into," she said. Washington isn't the only one who's eager to see Taylor blossom at Penn State. Caldwell, too, is excited about her potential. "I really can't say enough about her as a person, student and player," she said. "I have always felt lucky to have coached someone like her." A veteran team looks to do something special this season HIGH HOPES SEASON PREVIEW LAST SEASON Penn State finished 26-7 and 13-3 in the Big Ten, its win- ningest season since 2003-04. The Lady Li- ons won the league's regular-season championship, and while they lost to Purdue in the semifinals of the Big Ten tourna- ment, they later advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 with victories over UTEP and LSU. The season ended with a 77-59 loss to Connecticut in the regional semifinals. RETURNING STARTERS The Lady Lions have four full-time starters back: senior point guard Alex Bentley, jun- ior shooting guard Maggie Lucas, senior center Nikki Greene and sen- ior forward Mia Nickson. Also, senior forward Ariel Edwards is back after starting nine games last season. NEWCOMERS Junior guard Dara Tay- lor, a transfer from Maryland, and freshman center Candice Agee are both former McDonald's All-Ameri- cans and will combine to give Penn State more depth than it had a year ago. BACKCOURT This is the strength of Penn State's team, as Bentley and Lucas combined to average 33.6 points per game last season. With the second half of her college career still to play, Lucas is already within reach of any number of school records. Her 194 career 3-pointers rank third in school history, and she is 25th in career scoring with 1,194 points. Bentley, the Big Ten's preseason Co-Player of the Year, is 15th in career scoring (1,335 points) and 10th in assists (455). With Taylor playing alongside her, the Lady Lions will be able to push the tempo even more than before. FRONTCOURT The Lady Lions are ex- pecting continued development from Greene after a junior season in which she averaged 9.8 points and 7.8 rebounds. Nickson, a fierce re- bounder, is back at full strength fol- lowing an injury-plagued junior season. Ariel Edwards will likely start at small forward, with reserves Talia East and Tori Waldner playing bigger roles this year. Agee figures to make an immediate impact. She's 6-foot-5 and extremely athlet- ic and will be an especially big asset if Greene continues to have difficul- ty avoiding early fouls. SCHEDULE The Big Ten will be tough as always, particularly Ohio State, which returns Big Ten scoring leader Tayler Hill. But the most in- teresting game on the schedule may well be a Dec. 6 road trip to Con- necticut. The perennially powerful Huskies ran away from Penn State in the first half of last season's matchup in the NCAA tournament. The upcoming rematch should give the Lady Lions a chance to see how far they've come. OUTLOOK This has the potential to be the best season of Coquese Wash- ington's six-year tenure at Penn State. Of the 11 players on her ros- ter, all but two have either junior or senior eligibility. Three of her players are former McDonald's All-Ameri- cans, the most in school history. The team is deeper and more experi- enced than it was last year, particu- larly at point guard, where Taylor will give Penn State a chance to rest Bentley from time to time. While shooting guard Zhaque Gray will certainly be missed – she was the team's third-leading scorer last sea- son – the Lady Lions appear to have even more options than they did last year when they led the Big Ten in points per game (75.7). Is this a Fi- nal Four team? That's a lot to ask, especially of a program that has been there only once before. But the pieces do appear to be in place for a deep postseason run. –M.H.

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