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Penn State Women’s Basketball Names Captains for 2016-17 Season
Leadership
is the one constant of successful programs and the 2016-17 edition of
the Penn State women’s basketball team has elected a trio of capable
student-athletes as captain for the 2016-17 season. Seniors Kaliyah
Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.) & Peyton Whitted (Suwanee, Ga.), and
sophomore Sarah McMurtry (Pittsburgh, Pa.) have been selected as
captains for the upcoming season.
“No question,
having strong team leadership is an important ingredient to team
success,” said head coach Coquese Washington. “Peyton, Kaliyah and
Sarah have shown that they are ready to take the leadership reigns for
this team. Working together, they will guide Lady Lion Basketball in a
positive direction this season.”
The 2016-17
captains all bring different experiences to the table; Mitchell has
appeared in every game since stepping on campus for the 2013-14 season,
Whitted broke out as one of the top post players in the Big Ten last
season and McMurtry is lauded as one of the hardest workers in the
program after joining the squad as a walk-on in 2015-16.
While
she won’t be the first to raise her voice, Mitchell’s actions speak
plenty loud enough in the gym and off the floor. Entering her final
year in the program, she ranks among the top 20 in school history in
free throw shooting and continues to climb the all-time rebounding
charts. Last season, she averaged a career-best 9.5 points per game and
pulled down 5.1 rebounds per contest. She is on pace to crack into the
top-20 for career rebounds and with a career year in the scoring column
can also join the 1,000-point club.
Among her
off-court accolades, Mitchell is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten
selection, helping the Lady Lions set a school-record with seven team
members earning that distinction in 2014-15.
Whitted’s
leadership role on the team has continued to expand from her junior
campaign, which saw career-best efforts in nearly every statistical
category. During her 2015-16 campaign, she posted her first seven
career double-doubles – including three such efforts in the first four
games of the season. Her 256 rebounds last season come in at No. 21 on
the single season charts, while her per-game average of 9.3 points and
8.3 rebounds more than doubled her career averages entering the year.
A
nominee for COSIDA Academic All-District, Whitted is a two-time
Academic All-Big Ten performer that spent the summer interning with
WPSU Penn State as a member of their video production unit, helping
produce content for the Lady Lion program.
Every
team needs someone that continually places team before self, and
McMurtry embodies what it is to be a great teammate. After joining the
team as a walk-on in October 2015, she quickly stood out as one of the
hardest working and most respected players in the program. Her
willingness to do whatever it took to see her role completed at the
highest level led to her seeing playing time in eight games, while also
earning the distinction as Penn State’s recipient of the Big Ten
Sportsmanship Award.
McMurtry was one of the top
performers in the classroom for the Lady Lions last season, and
combining that with her on-court work, was awarded a scholarship for
the 2016-17 campaign.
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