Penn State begins new era

Coquese Washington is the new coach and Ursuline’s Tyra Grant tops the roster.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — With a limited roster and a brutal season-opening stretch of three games in three days, Coquese Washington briefly thought about putting on a Penn State uniform to give the Lady Lions more depth.

Too late. A 1992 graduate of Notre Dame, Washington’s playing days have long been over. Her head coaching career is about to begin.

For the first time in 27 years, the Lady Lions have a new leader. Rene Portland is gone, replaced by Washington, an enthusiastic rookie.

“I could play 40 minutes if they gave me more eligibility,” Washington said, smiling.

Her team could use the help. The Lady Lions host the season-opening, three-day WBCA/Basketball Travelers Classic starting Friday at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Penn State will take the floor tonight against Arizona with just 10 scholarship players. One of them, backup guard Meggan Quinn, is limited in practice as she recovers from a serious right knee injury.

Last season’s two most experienced post players, Amanda Brown and Charity Renfro, are gone. The most experienced frontcourt player, junior Rashida Mark, hasn’t played more than 21 minutes in any college game.

Rebounding could be a big problem, which is why Washington has placed an extra emphasis on hitting the boards in practice.

“Practice is very intense. You don’t want to slack off,” said forward Meredith Monroe, holding back a laugh at the podium as her coach listened the next seat over. “She’s all about going outside of your boundaries to get better, especially with rebounding and running people over.”

It’s that mix of on-court intensity and off-court banter that appears to be a trademark of Washington’s program so far. One of the biggest changes between this preseason and last year is more positive energy in practice, players have said.

“We are a lot more relaxed. As long as we go hard in everything we do, messing up really isn’t an issue,” Monroe said.

Also gone is the cloud of controversy that surrounded Penn State in Portland’s final years on the job.

Portland’s success on the court is unquestioned, having won 606 games and leading the Lady Lions to 21 NCAA tournament appearances over 27 seasons.

But her career was also marked by allegations of discrimination, including one from a former player who filed a lawsuit that said Portland had a “no-lesbian policy.” The two sides settled in February, and Portland stepped down a month later.

Enter Washington, whose upbeat attitude appears to have caught on with her team.

Penn State’s strength will be in the backcourt and on the wing. Last season’s top scorer, Ursuline High graduate Tyra Grant (14.6 points per game), returns, along with co-captain Kamela Gissendanner (12.8 ppg), the team’s only senior.

Juniors Brianne O’Rourke (6.6 ppg, 4.3 assists per game) and Mashea Williams (4.6 points) are also back to give the Lady Lions a solid backcourt.

It’s how Washington handles the frontcourt dilemma that may pose the biggest issue. Three recruits who signed on under Portland decided to come to Penn State anyway. Two of them, Evelyn Lewis and Janessa Wolf, both 6-foot-3 forwards, may especially be counted on in the tough early season stretch.

“It’s been a busy week, a crazy week, an exciting one,” Washington said. “I’m just ready to get going.”