Traub a Versatile Star For USciences Women's Hoops
By Matt Leon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – One of the region's best women's basketball players is putting up big numbers for the University of the Sciences.
Junior guard/forward Brianne Traub is nearly averaging a double-double for the Division II Devils. Through 18 games, she's scoring at a clip of 19.9 points a game while pulling down 8.6 rebounds. And it should be noted, she is also having a blast doing it.
"I love it," Traub tells KYW Newsradio. "You can probably see it on my face, I love being out there and playing. I love my team. I love it here."
Traub has helped Sciences to a 12-6 mark (7-4 in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference) under first-year head coach Jackie Hartzell.
"She's very, very good," Hartzell tells KYW Newsradio. "She is a flat out scorer. She's a go-to player. I think she's a leader of this team. We know when we need a basket we're going to get her the ball and she's going to produce. She's not even just a scorer, she's been putting up some big numbers with rebounding and she's playing much better defense now than she had in the beginning of the season. So she's just a complete player."
The numbers back that up. In addition to the big scoring and rebounding averages, Traub also leads the team in steals (25) and blocks (10), and adds that she's always trying to get better.
"I'm working on my game every year," Traub says. "Trying to find new things, trying to be different, out of the box. Find different ways that I can bring new things onto the floor, so it is not always the same stuff."
Sciences still has eight game left to play in the 2013-14 regular season and Traub is already the fifth all-time leading scorer in program history (1,338 points). She has a very legitimate shot at finishing her career at the top of that prestigious list. The Wayne, New Jersey, native says she is aware of the numbers, but adds it is not her focus.
"I'm more concerned about the team," Traub says. "How we're going to do and how we're going to finish, if we're going to win a championship. A lot of my personal things, that's great, and I think about it, but I want to win a championship here, and we're really close to doing that."
Hartzell is very happy to have a versatile weapon like Traub on her squad.
"It makes it a lot of fun as a coach to have a player like her," Hartzell says. "To put her in a lot of different spots. We feel like anything a team's going to do against her, we kind of have a counter for that. That's a nice thing to have as a coach."
Traub and the rest of the Devils return to the court on Saturday when they visit Felician College at 1:00pm.
You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.