As a freshman last season, sophomore point guard Alex Bentley served as Robin to now-departed senior Tyra Grant's Batman. After averaging close to 12 points per game last season, Bentley earned All-Big Ten and All-Freshman honors. Now, with Grant gone, Penn State is losing a lot of scoring, but coach Coquese Washington doesn't necessarily believe Bentley needs to pick up more of of a scoring slack so much as help cover the leadership gap without old leader Grant.
↵↵↵"Her role in some ways is going to change in that she is going to have to be a smarter player," Washington said at the team’s media day Oct. 11. "She has got to be the player who is going to lead the team, but she has to grow in her understanding of the position and how to impact the team as a leader and not simply as a scorer."
↵
With several freshman, Bentley will serve as a role model for Penn State even though she is only a sophomore. As Washington notes, however, she and teammate Nikkie Greene play in every game last season, and are looking to get the Lady Lions back on track after losing 10 of their final 12 last season.
↵↵"I think having that experience and again talking about Nikki Greene and Alex, who played every game, started every game for the most part last season, having that experience is going to be very valuable for them coming in to this season," Washington said. "They were kind of ticked off about it and they want to play better."
↵