How WNBA star Kahleah Copper is helping the La Salle women's basketball team grow
While La Salle women's basketball is in the middle of a rough season, a recent postgame speech from a WNBA star has helped the team grow.
"I don't remember actually if I told them or not, but I knew they were coming," La Salle women's basketball head coach Mountain MacGillivray said.
"Within one second of the game starting, I spotted her, and I freaked out," La Salle guard Sania Jenkins said.
When La Salle hosted Rider earlier this season, WNBA star Kahleah Copper was on hand.
"North Philly's own. Finals MVP, world champion," MacGillivray said. "So it was really exciting that Kahleah was coming."
"She comes from the highest point of basketball," Jenkins said. "She's in the WNBA. She's played for USA, and when someone has that experience, all you want to do is impress them."
The game went down to the wire. La Salle not only won, but also received a postgame speech from a high-profile guest.
"We won on our last offensive possession," MacGillivray said. "We knew we had to win. She agreed to come in and talk to them, and I'm sure they were fired up."
In the locker room, Copper said, "It's so important. It's very hard to make end-game adjustments, but y'all came to the locker room at halftime. You stuck together."
"Her words, I think, meant a lot to us," MacGillivray said. "She knows we're a team that's building and trying to grow. She encouraged us to just keep supporting each other and play through the difficulties."
"Her speech was for us to stick together," La Salle guard Jolene Armendariz said. "She could tell how much we are bonded, even though we've only known each other since the summer."
"We all going into the game, think about ourselves," Jenkins said, "but at the end of the game, it's a team sport. We all have to come together."
It has been a tough season for La Salle. The Explorers are just 8-20, but as they build and grow, the team is taking Copper's words to heart.
"I think everyone who plays anything competitively at a high level would like to be the best," MacGillivray said, "so when you have someone who is the best come in here and acknowledges what you're doing, it's uplifting."
