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GN: What are you majoring in at Gonzaga, and what do you see yourself doing when you stop playing basketball?

KR: My major is Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. I’m not sure what I would like to do after I graduate and am done playing basketball.

GN: You were a multi-sport standout for Post Falls. Tell us about the sports you participated in, outside of hoops, and how you did in each?

KR: I love all sports, which was why high school was so much fun because I could do them all! I played everything from soccer, basketball, volleyball, track and field, softball and golf. Obviously, basketball was my best sport and our team won two state championships my junior and senior season. I got a lot of recognition throughout my career being named to our All League Team, All North Idaho Team, and All State Team. As for my other sports, like soccer, I played three out of my four years, and made the first and second team in different years. Volleyball was never really a sport I had a lot of experience at, but I got a wild hair and decided to try it my junior year instead of soccer. I made the varsity team my first time out and soon took over the outside hitter starting position. It was a fun sport and I wish I would have started playing it sooner. Softball, I really only played for about a month; after I made the team my parents and I decided that the smartest decision for me would be to play a more non contact sport in light of my summer basketball programs in which I didn’t want to be hurt for. So instead of softball I did track and field for my freshman spring season. I really am not a fan of running for the fun of it so I decided to stick to the long jump and triple jump. That was the only season I jumped, I didn’t really enjoy just sitting around at meets, I’m more of a get-into-the-action kind of person, I always have to be doing something. So my sophomore year I turned to golf. I love golf, it is by far my favorite sport (even ahead of basketball, I know shocker, huh?) I only played my sophomore year and senior year; my junior year I decided to focus on training for basketball in the summer. My senior season though, my team and I placed third at state!

GN: When did you know basketball was your best sport, and how and when did you know that you could be good enough to earn a Division One scholarship? What was your recruitment like?

KR: I’ve been playing sports for as long as I can remember. Growing up with all boy cousins, I was definitely a tomboy and they showed me no mercy. Soccer was my main sport, I started playing when I was four and always thought that I would play professional one day. To be honest I absolutely hated basketball! I remember being dragged to my brother's practices and thought it was so stupid that they were trying to throw a ball into a small metal circle. I remember vowing that day that I would never play basketball, but I guess that didn’t last long. I was always really competitive with my cousins and anything and everything they did, I did. I started playing basketball in our barn on a dirt floor and I think like an eleven foot hoop. From there I started playing [AAU team] Spokane Stars in the seventh grade and loved basketball. It was the perfect complement to soccer, it has a lot of the same strategies and also kept me in shape. As I got older, though, I had to choose, so in eighth grade I decided to stick to basketball and hang up my competitive soccer cleats. As I said earlier, there wasn’t an exact time in my life that I knew that I was good enough to get a scholarship in basketball. As long as there where people to compete with and titles to go after I knew that I would accomplish them because I was so competitive. I know that might sound cocky but really it's just drive and determination. When I was getting recruited, it was crazy. It was fun at first to get the letters and hear from all the different schools that where interested. Everyone likes getting compliments, and that’s how the recruiting process is, but it gets old, and fast. Once the phone calls start, all you really want to do is tell everyone that you’re not home, it gets really annoying and tiresome. I spent days on end with a phone glued to my ear. It's kinda funny because I always told myself that I wanted to go to school in California where it was warm and away from home. I even told Coach Graves that, it was kind of a hint that I really wasn’t considering Gonzaga that much. I took a recruiting trip to GU mainly to please my parents, and because it would be an easy trip to take, just across the border. I absolutely loved the girls, the coaches, and the school. After that all my other trips seemed meaningless. I actually cancelled two of my trips, days before I was suppose to go, and told them I was going to GU. I haven’t questioned my decision since then.

GN: Every year it seems the Zags are on the verge of making the NCAA Tournament, but something pops up and prevents that from happening. What do you think it will take to get over that hurdle, and what lessons have you and the team learned from previous years’ heartbreaks?

KR: It basically comes down to dedication and drive. We have wanted it every year and have had more than capable teams to do it, but I think what is gonna get us over the hump is drive (having a healthy team wouldn’t hurt either). I’m not saying we didn’t have that the years previous, I’m just saying that in order to go the distance this year we are really going to have to buckle down and dedicate our own time to work on our individual games. Each and every one of us is going to have make the decision that this is our year and do everything we have to do to make that happen.

GN: What areas of your game are you personally working on to improve for your final year? While you’re at it, describe your game for Zag fans. Also, are you expected to assume a leadership role now that you’re a senior, and does leadership come natural to you or is it something you’ll need to develop or learn?

KR: This summer I’m really trying to fine tune my game, continually working on my ball handling, shooting, strength, and agility. If I were describing my game to a Zag fan, I would say that I’m the hard worker that doesn’t really stand out. I live for the hustle play or a good defensive stop. I would rather be responsible for shutting down the other team's best player, or known for getting the team's intensity up rather than score 20 points every game. Now that it's my senior season I definitely will be taking a leadership role. Having been around for three years I think that there is a lot that I can share with the younger girls to keep them on track and motivated. Plus being my senior season, I’m not expecting anything less than the best, so if that means I have to push my teammates to join my determination, I will!

GN: The team always is such a close-knit family. What do you and your teammates like to do when you’re not in the gym, weight room or studying?

KR: Well to honest we are kinda nerds. You can never go wrong with a good game night! We play everything from Taboo, Cranium, Scategories, and Balderdash. But our personal favorite is Disney Scene It. I know it may sound crazy, but so far Stephanie Hawk and I are undefeated in our battles! Another favorite pastime of ours is Dance Dance Revolution, not only is it an entertaining X-box game but it is also great for building stamina and agility.

GN: Tell us what it’s like to grow up along the Spokane River in Post Falls. Describe things to do and places to go in a boat or on a jet-ski during a hot July day. Fill us in on Hudson’s Hamburgers and why you guys like going there.

KR: Oh man, where do I begin?! I love the water and everything that has to do with it. I think if you could golf in the water I would never leave it in the summertime. There is so much to do, my favorites are wakeboarding and tubing, but there are so many other things to do as well. Still it’s never as much fun unless you have friends to hang out with you, that’s why I love to have the girls over in the summertime. We don’t get a lot accomplished at times, but that’s what summer is for. About those Hudson Hamburgers... Well words cannot describe them. You really have to taste them for yourself! There’s nothing special about them, I think it's just the whole package, the setting, summertime, and being with friends!

GN: What’s the craziest or funnest thing you ever did on the river, that is, the wildest “printable” story you can tell without getting into trouble?

KR: Well I think the funniest time would also be the scariest time as well. Last summer, I was pulling my brother wakeboarding, when he thought he would show off and try a 360 jump. Needless to say he didn’t make it all the way around and instead landed right on his head (not smart at all). We thought he was really hurt, so at first I was a little worried. After he got back on the boat, he couldn’t remember what happened, why he was wet, or anything that happened two weeks previous. Although it’s no laughing matter when someone loses their memory, it was pretty funny to make up stories and tell him things happened that never did. For a good couple hours we had him thinking that I had actually gotten married a week earlier, (he didn’t find it as humorous as the rest of us).

GN: What’s your favorite all-time movie? Favorite singer or band? Favorite food? Favorite TV show?

KR: I’m a huge movie buff, so picking my favorite is basically impossible. I guess though I would have to say "The Princess Bride." It was something I grew up with and have loved since I was a kid. As for singer or band, am I allowed to say my brother? I know that may sound lame, but he really is talented and I love his work. My favorite food would probably be any kind of pasta! Favorite TV show would be anything Reality TV, or something found on the Discovery or History Channels. I’m kind of a nerd at times, but I like to learn about weird things I didn’t know about before. The best on the Discovery Channel, though, is, “I Shouldn’t be Alive”. It’s awesome, it's true stories about people in dangerous situations, who miraculously lived!