The Nevada Sagebrush

Gross perseveres through tough fall

By: Juan López

Monday, November 16, 2009 - 11:51 PM

Click to enlarge. Photo by Brian Bolton / Nevada Sagebrush.

During her freshman year, Jennifer Gross didn’t get much of a feel for the bench.

The 6-foot guard played in all 30 games during her rookie campaign and made a solid contribution to the team, posting highs of 10 points and eight rebounds during the year.

In her sophomore year, she expected her production, playing time and role to increase.

Instead, she played in a team-low 19 games, averaging only 5.2 minutes per game and scoring only 13 points the entire season.

Why?

“Academics were the major reason,” Gross, a junior, said.

Gross was ineligible for the entire fall semester due to her poor academic standing and she spent the first half of the team’s season trying to get caught up.

Her extra focus on improving academically hurt her involvement with the team.

“She was not physically conditioning because she was not here a lot,” Wolf Pack women’s basketball head coach Jane Albright said. “Since she didn’t travel a lot, I don’t think she felt as much a part of the team. I think that was really hard on her.”

Gross said it was hard sitting out for a large chunk of the season, but it helped put her life in perspective.

“There was a lot of frustration, but at the same time I had to understand what kind of position I was in,” she said. “Just proving to myself that I could play basketball and go to school at the same time was the biggest thing that motivated me. Not putting myself in the same position again pushed me a lot too.”

Gross turned it around. She put in extra hours studying and doing homework and was able to make it back for the spring semester. However, it was too late for her to get into a good rhythm and flow with the team.

So for this season, Gross has made it her goal to stay consistent and make a big impact on the team.

“This is a big year, for not just me, but the whole team,” she said. “I think we have a good chance of winning the (Western Athletic Conference) and being a better team than we were last year.
“The whole thing that happened made me take more responsibility for my actions and the decisions that I made.”

Gross’ comeback came to fruition this past Friday in the team’s season opener, when she started for the first time in her career. She scored five points and pulled down six rebounds.

She said the entire process of playing a lot as a freshman, sitting out most of the season as a sophomore and starting on Friday helped her mature greatly as a person.

“It makes me look at myself differently,” she said. “I have to be more consistent. And if it was to happen, academically, again, I’d know I’d be letting down not only myself, but my team and the staff. I want to be happy, but I want to be sure I make them happy, too.”

Finding Success, Again

➤ Jennifer Gross played in a team-low 19 games last season and averaged only 5.2 minutes per game.
➤ Gross started for the first time in her career on Friday. She had five points and six rebounds.

Juan López can be reached at jlopez@nevadasagebrush.com.