July 30, 2008

Joining the Marquette women's basketball team this season are two junior college transfers Lauren Thomas-Johnson and Breann Hill. The duo played together at Kirkwood Junior College, winning two consecutive NJCAA Division II National titles in 2007 and 2008 under head coach Kim Muhl. Thomas-Johnson was recognized as the 2008 NJCAA Tournament MVP and Hill was named to the 2008 NJCAA All-Tournament team.

Thomas-Johnson, a native of Manchester, England, earned first team all-region honors as a freshman, averaging 9.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, and 2.4 apg. During the summer of 2007, she played for the Great Britain Under-20 team in the U-20 European Championship, where she helped the team to a third place finish. As a sophomore at Kirkwood, she was a JC/CC State Farm Coaches' All American and earned NJCAA First-Team All-America honors as well as first team all-region accolades en route to tallying 13.1 ppg and 3.0 rpg.

Hailing from Harrisburg, Pa., hometown of head coach Terri Mitchell, Hill was second team all-conference her first year at Kirkwood, averaging 9.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, and 2.6 apg. After averaging 14.2 ppg and 8.0 rpg her sophomore season, she earned NJCAA First-Team All-America honors and first team all-region accolades in 2008.

 

You were the top scoring duo at Kirkwood. Why were you able to be so effective?

Lauren: We work well together. I know where she's going to be and she knows where I'm going to be. We have good chemistry.

Breann: And the team was pretty good, as well, so that did help. We all played well together.

After winning back-to-back national championships at Kirkwood, how do you think the "championship" experience will help you looking at the teams you'll face this season?

B: I think now we know how to win and what it takes to win. We'll definitely be bringing that to the table.

L: Now we know that no one is unbeatable and anybody can be defeated at least once.

As NCJAA First Team All-Americans at Kirkwood, does the recognition motivate you both?

B: It does, but it also puts an X on our back, just coming in from a junior college I think does.

L: Especially being an All-American, which is such a high honor, you feel you have to come here and live up to that expectation of that All-America award.

Division I is going to have faster and stronger teams. How have you been preparing for the transition from junior college to Division I?

L: To be honest, it's all Rudy right now. It's all workouts, non-stop. I'm enjoying it though, I wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

B: There definitely is a big change in workouts but I think we're both enjoying it.

What will you miss about Kirkwood?

L: Coach [Muhl], definitely, I'm going to miss him, and all the girls really. I'm probably going to miss everything about it but I'm going to miss coach the most.

Breann Hill

B: The same, I'll miss coach and just the team as well. I mean, they're all good girls who were a lot of fun to play with. It's always good winning championships so we're definitely going to miss winning every year.

Breann, you played at the same high school Terri did [Bishop McDevitt] and now are going to play for her, is that a coincidence?

B: It really is a coincidence I think, but it's a good thing because coming from Harrisburg and not too many girls go too big out of high school from Harrisburg. A lot of the teachers from back at school know her and it's nice when I go back because everyone is talking about her. That actually helped me to make my decision to come here in the first place.

Has being together at Kirkwood made the transition easier?

B: It's always good knowing somebody when you come here, plus we have good chemistry with playing together.

L: Definitely, it was good coming here together.

Lauren, what's it like to be so far from home [England]?

L: I mean, this is my fifth year in America now, so it's getting a lot easier. We don't cry anymore at the airport. [Laughs] I think it's just times on weekends when girls go home when it makes me homesick because you hear people saying, "Oh, I'm going to go eat dinner with mom and dad." [England] is six hours ahead too and because I'm in classes all day, by the time I'm done with classes, mom and dad are going to bed. It's really like the weekends we only have to talk. But it's getting easier and they both support me and they'll be here in November to watch me play in the tournament over Thanksgiving. The whole entire Hill family is coming and mine's coming too.

What attracted you to Marquette both as a school and as a program?

L: Considering I am so far from home, the big thing for me was I wanted it to feel like home when I was here. When I came here and met the coaches and the girls, I felt that this was the place for me. Plus, my high school coach used to coach Coach Cara in AAU, so that helped.

B: For me, a lot of my decision was hearing about Marquette and the fact that they stayed with me through the recruiting process. Hearing about Terri Mitchell from people back at home helped. It seemed right. Since I couldn't come straight out of high school, they were one of the schools that stayed with me.

How do you see your roles on the team this year?

B: We just want to come in and help any way we can. I know for me, I'm just going to come in and play my game. I'll do whatever the coaches ask of me to win because as I said before, we come from a winning school.

L: Coming from a winning school, I want to lead. I'm a leader at heart so I want to try to help lead the team to a championship.

Any teams or games you're especially looking forward to playing this season?

B: South Florida.

L: Yeah, we played with one of their players [guard Jazmine Sepulveda] at Kirkwood. And Connecticut.

B: I mean, I'm just anxious to play them all. I've watch them on TV, and now I am ready to play them.

Lauren, you played for the U-20 Great Britain team that finished 3rd in the U-20 European Championship. What was that experience like for you?

L: It was a good experience. Basketball in Europe is a lot different than basketball in America. It was good because I was playing with the same girls since I was 12 years old. We actually won our first bronze medal together and that's the first medal Great Britain's ever won. It was a lot of fun and it gets you prepared because the game is a lot tougher out there, I'd say. It gets you mentally prepared if anything.

What part of your game do you pride yourself most on?

L: Probably going to the basket. I'm trying to get my three-point shot and midrange game down.

B: I'd say taking it to the hoop. Of course, I work on my ball handling and shooting and stuff, but definitely driving.

What have your summers been like?

B: It's been great. I actually took classes at Kirkwood the first part. Then coming over here, like I said, was different but the girls are great and they make you feel right at home. The workouts have been kind of tough, but we expected it. Rudy is great.

L: I've had a good summer. I was able to go home for the first part of the summer. I worked at home and played basketball. I was just anxious to come out here to be honest, because it took me two years to get here and I was thinking, "Can't I just be there already?" I was telling the girls, I'm going home on Friday and it's the first time I'm not say, "Yes!" I'm excited to go home, because I'm loving it here so much.

How've you been adapting to Milwaukee from Iowa? Are there any major differences?

B: It's definitely a bigger city, but I'm from Harrisburg so I'm kind of used to a big city in a way. Milwaukee's a little more fast-paced, but it's a good city.

Have you set any individual and team goals for this season?

L: We haven't really sat down and set any as a team. But, my individual goal is just to get stronger and become a better player in all aspects of my game. And obviously to win a championship.

B: Obviously, that's everyone's goal as a team, to win a championship. But as far as individually, definitely get mentally tougher and just continue to work on my game. I want to come out and be able to help the team as much as possible.

Coach Mitchell has talked a lot about your speed, Lauren, on the perimeter. How will you be effective with that this season?

L: I'm just going to run up and down the sideline [laughs]. I'm just going to use it to my advantage and just run until [Coach Mitchell] says stop.

Coach Mitchell has talked a lot about your versatility, Breann. How will you work on bringing that out this season?

B: Definitely to my advantage, just playing well outside and trying to switch it up a little. Just see what works and get a feel for the game.