By Kylie DeHaven - Drake Athletic Communications Student Assistant
This story originally appeared in the Feb. 5 & 7 edition of the Drake Women's Basketball Gameday Program.

Sophomores Maddy Dean, Paige Greiner and Becca Jonas of the Drake University women's basketball team each had stellar freshmen seasons, and are looking forward to continuing their success in the Drake uniform during this 2015-16 season. Dean tallied a number of awards her freshman year, including the MVC Freshman of the Year, and a place on the All-MVC First Team and MVC All-Freshman Team. Greiner led the MVC in three-point percentage her freshman year with a 47 percent, and this season currently leads the team with a 42.5 percent mark. Jonas was recognized by the conference with a spot on the MVC All-Freshman Team and All-MVC Honorable Mention accolades. Jonas' sophomore year was delayed when she had season-ending knee surgery in August, 2015. Jonas is six months into her recovery and can't wait to get back out on the court. These Drake women's basketball sophomore standouts had a chance to sit down for an interview.
 
What about Drake and the women's basketball program led by head coach Jennie Baranczyk made you want to come here?
 
Dean: "Definitely the people. I think the community here is awesome. What really stood out was the players and just Jennie and her coaching staff. I just really felt like it was a special place here and I wanted to be a part of it. The academics are great, and the location is great."
 
Greiner: "For sure the first thing was the people. I remember meeting Jennie and immediately felt a connection there and that just grew when I met the team. Also, Drake's education really stuck out to me and that was really important in my decision. And it was close to home."
 
Jonas: "Drake was the first school to recruit me. All the games are close to home so my parents are able to come to all the games. That was big for me. And the basketball program in general was on the rise and I wanted to be a part of it."
 
 
As sophomores, you all have a year of experience under your belt, what is the most important thing you learned from freshman year?
 
Dean: "Probably for me was just the every day stuff. The speed of the game and confidence. We did get to play a lot as freshmen, so we have that confidence and we know what to expect when it comes to conference season. Every day is a different day, but having that experience under our belt is big."
 
Greiner: "One of the big things I learned was how to take care of my body. Making sure that we're fueling it the right way and doing all we can to make sure we compete at the highest level. That was a big thing for me."
 
Jonas: "I guess I would say the biggest thing is really learning how to focus. And that goes for school, for the sport, every day in practice, just being able to hone in on what you're doing so you can get the most out of every single day."
 
Becca – you had season-ending surgery knee surgery this past August. How have you been able to manage juggling recovery, school, and still keeping up with everything on the team?
 
Jonas: "Obviously coming off of surgery has been hard not being able to be out on the court. But the team has been super great. The coaches have done a good job of trying to give me stuff to do to keep me involved. It's been tough, but there's still stuff you can learn from sitting out and that's the biggest thing I've taken probably. You just see things from a different perspective so I'm trying to take in as much as I can until I get back out there."
 
What is your favorite memory so far at Drake?
 
Dean: "Honestly, just the feel of the Knapp Center on game day. Being on our home court with all our home fans and our team is just the coolest thing ever. My favorite memory happens every week but it's such a cool experience that you can't beat."
 
Greiner: "I think one of my favorite memories to date would be beating Creighton this year. That was just a really good team win."
 
Jonas: "Probably starting 9-0 in the conference last year. The month of January last year was really fun for us. We really just got into our groove."