Although coach Coquese Washington admitted she knows nothing about surfing, she said you have to “ride the wave” while it’s there.
Like surfing, basketball is all about shifts in momentum.
While the surfer needs to feel the ebb and flow of the tide to catch the right wave, the basketball player needs to feel similar ebb and flow in momentum throughout a game to ride it to victory.
“You kind of have to figure out why you’re in the middle of it, how you ride that momentum, how you ride that shift,” Washington said.
Despite a lull halfway through the game, the Nittany Lions (14-7, 4-5 Big Ten) fought to regain control of their momentum and allowed it to carry them to an 82-66 victory on Sunday afternoon over the Fighting Illini (8-14, 3-6 Big Ten).