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“I think changing my mindset is one thing; when you’re practicing alongside Lou (Katie Lou Samuelson), Pheesa (Collier), Gabby (Williams), Kia (Nurse), you have to change your mindset or you kind of get kicked to the side,” Stevens said. “I definitely am grateful for being around them, being able to be challenged by them as well as the coaches. Just embracing more of a down-low game is an area where I’ve grown both offensively and defensively.”
I’m affecting the game more and it’s realizing that affecting and impacting the game doesn’t always mean scoring,” Stevens said. “You can be a really effective player and not score any points, so I’m trying to have that mindset, especially coming off the bench being a spark, whether it’s rebounding or altering shots. I was getting in a lot of foul trouble trying to block everything, but now I’m realizing I’m 6-6, I don’t need to try to block everything; just putting my hands up and being there will alter some shots.”
Batoully:
A big moment for Camara came when she shed the knee brace she had been wearing late in the regular season. It was a symbolic gesture as it signaled that she was ready to put that injury in the rear-view mirror.
“I had it on two or three weeks longer than I had to; taking off that knee brace is shifting that mentality and that was a good transition,” Camara said.
Another key moment was when she watched Crystal Dangerfield and Williams limp off the court during the quarterfinal win over Tulane. It drove home how little margin for error there is even for a UConn team that has been the unanimous No. 1 team in the Associated Press poll every week this season.
“They (UConn’s starters) work so hard and do all the work, we just have to be able to contribute and kind of add to what they’ve done,” Camara said. “We want to go out there and try to make them proud, earn their respect because they know we’re working as hard as we can.”
Samuelson said. “Now that they’re actually contributing in games for us, you can feel how dedicated they are and how much this actually means to them, coming from a different program and trying to fit in here. They’ve tried to put their full effort into this.”
Transfers Stevens, Camara embracing UConn’s postseason run
I’m affecting the game more and it’s realizing that affecting and impacting the game doesn’t always mean scoring,” Stevens said. “You can be a really effective player and not score any points, so I’m trying to have that mindset, especially coming off the bench being a spark, whether it’s rebounding or altering shots. I was getting in a lot of foul trouble trying to block everything, but now I’m realizing I’m 6-6, I don’t need to try to block everything; just putting my hands up and being there will alter some shots.”
Batoully:
A big moment for Camara came when she shed the knee brace she had been wearing late in the regular season. It was a symbolic gesture as it signaled that she was ready to put that injury in the rear-view mirror.
“I had it on two or three weeks longer than I had to; taking off that knee brace is shifting that mentality and that was a good transition,” Camara said.
Another key moment was when she watched Crystal Dangerfield and Williams limp off the court during the quarterfinal win over Tulane. It drove home how little margin for error there is even for a UConn team that has been the unanimous No. 1 team in the Associated Press poll every week this season.
“They (UConn’s starters) work so hard and do all the work, we just have to be able to contribute and kind of add to what they’ve done,” Camara said. “We want to go out there and try to make them proud, earn their respect because they know we’re working as hard as we can.”
Samuelson said. “Now that they’re actually contributing in games for us, you can feel how dedicated they are and how much this actually means to them, coming from a different program and trying to fit in here. They’ve tried to put their full effort into this.”
Transfers Stevens, Camara embracing UConn’s postseason run
