WSOU

2020 Pirate Player Preview: Lauren Park-Lane

Date: July 8, 2020

By: Jorie Mickens

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Seton Hall Athletics

Pirates’ point guard Lauren Park-Lane was a staple of consistency last season, as she was the only player on Seton Hall’s roster to start all 31 games. After a productive freshman season, Park-Lane will need to blossom into more of a leader with seniors Shadeen Samuels, Alexis Lewis, and Barbara Johnson now out of the picture.

Park-Lane’s college debut was a success. She dropped in nine points, dished out six assists and collected three steals in the Pirates’ 95-69 win over Sacred Heart. While her next three outings were plagued with inconsistent shooting percentages, she still managed to average a hefty assist total in that span.

Park-Lane led the Pirates in assists per game and was fifth in that category in the Big East last season, averaging 4.2 assists per game. That average was the most by any freshman or sophomore in the conference last year.

Park-Lane’s first double-digit scoring outing came during a 55-39 win against St. Joseph’s, as she scored 10 points and totaled five assists. Park-Lane scored in double-digits six more times throughout the season, including a career-high 17 points against Butler during the Pirates’ first game in the Big East tournament.

Park-Lane finished the season averaging 6.7 points per game, which ranked sixth on the team. With three of Seton Hall’s top-five scorers from last season now off the roster, Park-Lane could see a bump up in her scoring average, but she will need to work on her efficiency. Park-Lane took the fourth most three’s of any Pirate last season, but shot 28 percent from downtown, which was ninth on the team. Park-Lane’s overall field goal percentage was also just 34 percent, which was eleventh on the team. For the Pirates to remain afloat this season, Park-Lane needs to limit her ill-advised shot attempts and continue to attack the basket and draw fouls.

In the eight games Park-Lane shot at least four free throws, the Pirates were 6-2, with the only two losses coming against Georgia Tech during the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas, and St. John’s at the end of a three-game road trip. If Park-Lane can get her free throw percentage to hover around 70-75 percent this season, and average about four shots from the line per game, her scoring average could easily eclipse double-digits this year.

For a freshman point guard, Park-Lane had a surprisingly low turnover average, averaging just 2.1 turnovers a game. An increased usage rate may cause that number to fluctuate this season, but for your starting point guard to possess great ball security at a young age should be encouraging for Seton Hall’s coaching staff.

Park-Lane may also lead the Pirates in minutes per game this season. She was already third on the team last year, averaging 29.4 minutes per game, and with seniors Lewis and Samuels gone, Park-Lane should be on the floor for most of each game.

With the coronavirus pandemic limiting team workouts this summer, it will be intriguing to see how well conditioned Park-Lane and the rest of the team is when the season commences. Park-Lane is set to play a lot of minutes this year and she will face more defensive pressure as she becomes one of the more tenured players on the roster this season.

Standing at 5-foot-6-inches, Park-Lane does not have the luxury of some other players in the conference that can dominant opposing backcourts with their size. It will be vital for Park-Lane to add to a multitude of dribble moves, floaters and layups already in her arsenal, as well as work on her body control, stamina and power to compensate for the height difference of her opponents.

One area Park-Lane will also need to continue to improve on is her perimeter defense. Last year, Park-Lane averaged one steal per game, but many of those came as a result of traps and being a weakside defender.

Three ways I believe Park-Lane can become a lockdown defender is increasing her willingness to take charges, studying the tendencies of her opponents and utilizing her quickness to pressure ballhandlers. In the game of basketball, taking a charge is always a huge momentum changer. With her smaller stature, Park-Lane would not have to exaggerate contact to get referees to call offensive fouls on her opponents. Every possession matters, and there is nothing that gets a team riled up like drawing an offensive foul.

Becoming more of a student of the game would also drastically improve Park-Lane’s defense. In every sport, a great defender normally has an uncanny ability to read offensive playsets, which in turn helps predict where the ball may end up. The more film Park-Lane watches, the better suited she will be to take on any matchup thrown her way.

Lastly, with what Park-Lane lacks in size, she makes up for with insane quickness. On the offensive side of the ball, we have already seen how deadly she can be with the ball in her hands. Countless times last season, Park-Lane beat her defender off the dribble with an array of crossovers and step backs, now she needs to utilize that same quickness on the defensive side of the floor.

Constantly trying to cut down the space between herself and the ball will force ballhandlers to either pass or turn their back to her, which limits both their shooting potential and vision. Park-Lane should also not be afraid to leave her defensive stance if she gets beat off-the-dribble and sprint to a spot to remain in front of the ballhandler.

Park-Lane is already a disciplined defender, as she averaged just 1.6 fouls per game last season. While applying heavy defensive pressure throughout a game can be exhausting, it will grant her easy transition buckets and a higher tally in Seton Hall’s win column this year.

Park-Lane is shaping up to be a premier player not only for Seton Hall this season, but for the entire Big East conference. She already established herself as a reliable point guard for head coach Anthony Bozzella’s squad during her freshman season, now it is time for her to ascend to another level.

Jorie Mickens is and Assistant Sports Director for WSOU Sports, and can be reached at jorie.mickens@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, Women's Basketball, WSOU

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