Much has been made of Pat Chambers’ taking over the men’s basketball program this year. But the excitement about a new era of Penn State men’s basketball has somewhat overshadowed the Lady Lions. That should not be the case because, for a variety of reasons, the Lady Lions deserve your attention.

I’ll admit that until last year, I disliked women’s basketball. I never could get into it. Maybe it was due to the games I had seen, which were slow-paced and featured many missed layups (which, coincidentally, is why I could not stand the men’s team either). However, as I covered the Lady Lions last season, I overcame my narrow-mindedness and grew to love this Penn State team.

Coach Coquese Washington’s up-tempo style of offense helped change my mind. The Lady Lions reached 100 points twice last season on their way to averaging nearly 77 points per game. Penn State shot, and often scored, early in the shot clock. The high tempo made for exciting games last year.

This season, expect even more exciting games from Penn State. Already, the Lady Lions have overcome first half deficits to win both of their games. With a guard-oriented offense led by Maggie Lucas, Alex Bentley and Zhaque Gray, the Lady Lions will be taking plenty of 3-point shots. Just two games into her sophomore year, Lucas is already tied for eighth on the Penn State career made 3-pointers list with 118.

If exciting basketball isn’t enough to sway you, a high level of competitiveness should. Penn State was ranked 12th in the preseason poll and will be vying for a Big Ten title this season. The Lady Lions lost only one senior from last year’s team that made it to the NCAA Second Round, so another NCAA Tournament berth should be expected this year.

Penn State is on the road for the next two weeks. This week, the Lady Lions are at Delaware on Thursday and at South Carolina on Sunday. The next chance to catch a home game will be on Nov. 30 against North Carolina.

The Lady Lions are a good team with high expectations. The games they play are often high-scoring and exciting. For these reasons, the Penn State women’s basketball team deserves your attention this season.