Knoch grad Nina Shaw assumes starting role at point guard for Cal (Pa.) women as freshman

Even before she enrolled at Cal (Pa.), Knoch alumnae Nina Shaw had plenty of familiarity with the school.

She often played in a summer league there, even staying in the dorms. And Vulcans women’s basketball coach Jess Strom started recruiting Shaw when the point guard was a freshman in high school.

That familiarity went a long way to helping Shaw earn Cal’s starting point guard job. And Shaw hasn’t disappointed, helping the Vulcans to a 4-0 record and running the offense with the savvy of a seasoned veteran.

Strom, in fact, said Shaw never has played or conducted herself like a freshman.

“She has the perfect demeanor for a point guard,” said the 12th-year coach. “She’s always the same. We have some older players, redshirt seniors. We have a player who just turned 24 years old, so Nina coming in at 18 and kind of having to direct things with a lot of older players … I think she has the perfect demeanor for that.”

And it’s not just that Shaw is taking charge of a lineup filled with older players. These are older players with pedigree.

Junior forward Allycia Harris is the reigning PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Year. Redshirt senior Dejah Terrell was the conference athlete of the year in 2021-22. Senior Jordan Smith was one of only three Vulcans to start all 32 games for last season’s squad that qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

“She has to have a thick skin,” Strom said about Shaw. “She has to boss them around a little bit. I think it’s been a process. … I don’t want to say it was a power struggle. I think it’s just taken them time to get to know her and get to know her personality and know what she is trying to do.

“But, at this point, it’s really good. They respond to her. They know she is the leader on the court because of her position.”

Shaw admitted she was, at first, a little intimidated by the prospect of having to take the reins of such an experienced and accomplished group. But that dissipated quickly.

It was Terrell, in fact, whom Shaw credits with helping her get accustomed to the college game. Now, she said, she not only is comfortable with her new teammates on the court but off it as well.

“Being a point guard coming in, I definitely wanted to make sure my leadership skills were 100 (percent),” she said. “I had to be extremely vocal. I had to communicate everything that I was doing.

“I just play how I know how to play. I’m just confident in my ability and confident in my coaches and my players. I don’t even think about being a freshman, honestly. I don’t even look at the older people being older. I just look at it as we’re playing basketball.”

Shaw said she wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of her playing time. The way she saw it, she would come in, work as hard as she could, and whatever playing time she got is what she deserved.

And when she found out she would be the starting point guard for the Vulcans’ opener, Shaw was unfazed. All she wanted to do, she said, was reward Strom’s confidence in her.

Shaw got that chance from the jump as Cal opened the season by hosting 16th-ranked West Virginia State. The Yellow Jackets were the overwhelming favorite to win the Mountain East Conference after winning 22 games and making the NCAA Tournament the previous season.

Facing a relentless press that lasted from the opening tip to the final buzzer, Shaw held her own. While she did commit seven turnovers, she played 39 minutes — most among the Vulcans — scored seven points on 3-of-6 shooting and added two steals. More importantly, Cal (Pa.) earned an impressive 84-68 win.

“The first game, they pressed the whole entire time,” Shaw said. “I thought I handled it pretty well. I did have a few turnovers here and there, but, at the end of the day, we still won the game and I did what I needed to do.”

Strom said she is pretty hard on her point guards. Understandable, considering she was a standout guard at Penn State in her playing days. She said she probably says Shaw’s name “100 times a day” during practices.

But Strom sees the potential in Shaw and wants her to maximize her seemingly boundless ability. The early returns have done nothing to diminish her confidence. With Shaw running the show, Cal (Pa.) debuted in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association poll at No. 20 on Tuesday.

Through the Vulcans’ first four games, Shaw was averaging 6.0 points while leading the team in steals (11) and assists (18).

“I thought we would have to go through some freshman lumps with throwing her in there,” Strom said, “but, so far, it has not been that way. She seems older than she is. She’s been really good for us.

“Defensively, I think she’s way ahead for a freshman than we’ve had in the past. And we have scorers this year, so she doesn’t really need to score a ton right now.”

That said, Strom said she believes Shaw has the ability to average 10 points per game.

Shaw isn’t thinking much about her points right now. She is focused on continuing her current trajectory and getting the Vulcans more wins.

She did, however, divulge that she has a personal goal in mind: to win the PSAC West Freshman of the Year.

And while she said that achievement would be “awesome,” she gladly would trade it for a conference title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

“As long as I’m getting us into what we need to do, getting assists, as long as we win at the end of the day, I don’t care if I have zero points,” she said.

“As long as I have the assists and I am able to do what I need to do to get our team the win, then I’m fine.”