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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: University of Penn's Kendall Grasela is Making Her Mark In the Ivy League

By Rich Flanagan Photos by: Zamani Feelings & Chris Evangelist -Video: Zamani Feelings, 01/21/19, 4:30PM EST

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Penn's Grasela Points to Winning Culture at Germantown Academy

Rich Flanagan (@richflanagan33)

PHILADELPHIA – When watching Kendall Grasela this season, one thing becomes immediately apparent: her poise and confidence are higher than they’ve been at any point in her collegiate career. The University of Pennsylvania junior point guard is seeing things develop as she brings the ball up the floor. She knows when to lob it into the post. She knows when she should do a dribble handoff and set a screen for a teammate. More importantly, she knows when she needs to assert herself and look for her shot.

After coming off the bench in her first two seasons with the Quakers, Grasela was inserted into the starting lineup and she has not disappointed. She has started in all 12 of Penn’s games this season averaging 3.9 points per game and 2.2 assists per game. The 5-10 native of Huntingdon Valley, Pa. scored a career-high 10 points against No. 1 ranked Notre Dame on November 12, her second game as a starter. While her scoring ability is beginning to reveal itself, Grasela knows her most vital role is being Penn’s on-court leader.

“My role is to lead the team,” Grasela said. “I’m a faster guard so I like to push in transition and definitely [distributing] assists is my main mindset. I’m a very pass-first point guard. [Coach Mike McLaughlin] keeps pushing that but he’s also pushing me to be more confident and to score. He wants me to get more shots up because I haven’t really been shooting as much. As I continue to develop, the scoring aspect will start to bloom because I’m a passer first.”

UPenn's Kendall Grasela in game vs. St. Joe's University- (video Zamani Feelings)

As a freshman, Grasela appeared in 12 games and only scored a single point. She played in 29 games during her sophomore season logging 201 minutes. She learned a great deal from former team captain and two-time Second-Team All-Ivy League selection Anna Ross, who finished her career first in Penn history in assists (491) as well as career starts and games played (120). Playing behind Ross, Grasela learned what it meant to be the lead facilitator for a team that had recently claimed an Ivy League title in 2016.

“I think playing behind Anna the last two years taught me so much as a point guard,” Grasela said. “She was awesome leader, player and person to be around. Having such a great coaching staff and teammates to just encourage you and continuously push you to be the best you can be is huge. My coaches talk to me all the time and they say, ‘You have to be confident and you have to lead this team.’ As I’m coming through and continuing to start, I’m definitely developing as a leader as well.”

Kendall Grasela addresses her leadership role and notes how her time playing at Germantown Academy under Sherri Retif greatly prepared her for Ivy League competition:

In addition to her performance against Notre Dame, Grasela has had her fair share of bright spots in her first year as a starter. She matched her career-high with 10 points against Stetson on Dec. 31 to go along with six assists and three steals. She’s had at least four assists in five separate contests. McLaughlin, who has overseen three Ivy League titles during his tenure, knew Grasela possessed several of the qualities that make a point guard successful at the collegiate level.

“She brings the group along all the time,” McLaughlin said. “She’s got a leadership quality by example. She’s always the first one on the floor and she’s always talking. She’s the most positive person we have in the program. These are all winning traits. She’s learned a lot in her first two years and now she’s out there in crunch time. She’ll continue to grow and before she’s done she’ll going to be an excellent player for us.”

UPenn coach Mike McLaughlin talks about Grasela's progression as a point guard and team leader:

While she’s emerging as the leader at the point for the Quakers, Grasela modeled most of her game around the teaching and instruction of Germantown Academy head coach Sherri Retif, who has won 17 Inter-Academic championships. Grasela was a member of three of those Inter-Ac titles, including back-to-back crowns in 2014 and 2015.

“She’s a good athlete and has great determination,” Retif said. “I’m not surprised by her success at Penn. At times, she can be a little too unselfish. She has a beautiful shot and even though she tends to defer she’ll get better as she realizes that.”

While at Germantown Academy, Grasela was able to play with and practice against her fair share of players who have gone on to have great careers at the collegiate level. She was teammates with 2015-16 Inter-Ac MVP Erin Lindahl (Emory University). She also played with Lauren Oeth, a 2015 All-Inter-Ac Second Team selection now at Bloomsburg, and Lily Bolen, another 2015 All-Inter-Ac Second Team pick who is playing at Tufts University.

 

Grasela pictured front row center with members of the Germantown Academy 2015-16 Inter-Ac Champion Team- including teammates #21 Erin Lindahl & #44 Lauren Oeth and #20 Lily Bolen (picture-GA athletics).

It wasn’t merely her teammates who helped Grasela grow into the player she would become while with the Patriots but those alumnae who previously played under Retif that had accomplished careers in college. Grasela noted she continually practiced against players such as Joanna Rhoads, a 2003 Germantown Academy graduate who scored 1,713 points and played four years at Penn. Rhoads was a member of the Quakers Ivy League championship team in 2003-04 and was named All-Ivy First Team in 2007. She finished her career at Penn with over 1,200 points then later played professionally in Finland and Spain.

Additionally, Grasela was pitted against Diana Caramanico, a 1997 GA graduate who scored a Big 5 and Ivy League record 2,415 career points at Penn and remains the only All-America in program history, and Laura Kurz, the Patriots’ all-time leading scorer with 2,247 points who played at Villanova from 2006-09 and now is an assistant at the Main Line school.

The experience Grasela gained by battling with players like Rhoads, Caramanico and Kurz was indispensable and allowed her game to mature at a faster rate.

“GA was such a winning program historically and I think being coached under coach Retif was great,” Grasela said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better high school coach. She prepared me so well and I played point guard since I was a freshman there. That helped to translate now. I think that Inter-Ac environment was so competitive and it’s almost comparative to the Ivy League. GA is such a great academic and athletic school as Penn.”

GA's head coach Sherri Retif instructs team during 2016 league game against Baldwin School-(PSD photo).

Penn became Grasela’s choice for its rich history in both the classroom and its success on the basketball coach. As a senior, she won a Ferguson Award from the Markward Memorial Basketball Club for her excellence in academics so being integrated into the Ivy League was a driving force in her decision to join the Quakers program. Retif knew Penn spoke to both aspects that her former pupil was searching for as Grasela was “an amazing student. It’s one of the reasons the Ivy League appealed to her."

From an athletic standpoint, she saw what Penn could gain if Grasela chose to continue her career there.

“She passes very well and she really does have a beautiful shot,” Retif said. “She’s not generally looking for her shot but she’ll continue to become more aggressive. She sees the play developing before it happens and has great instincts on the court.”

Grasela is still learning when she needs to look for her shot on a more consistent basis and when she needs to revert back to having her “pass-first” mentality. The young floor general believes that will come with time.

“I think I’m learning to see where I can be more aggressive offensively,” Grasela said. “In my first two years, I was always so passive and Coach McLaughlin would always say, ‘Kendall, look like you’re going to score. Be a basketball player.’ That part of my game is really starting to develop. I’m getting to the basket more. Even if I’m getting to the basket and getting an assist to a post player, that part of my game has stepped up and my confidence level has risen since I’ve been starting.”

As the Quakers head into Ivy League play, they’re hopeful Grasela’s game will only continue to grow.

Game photos vs. St. Joe's University and Villanova by: Zamani Feelings and Chris Evangelist for PSD.