As winter quarter ramps up at Western Washington University, the women's basketball season is well underway. Team upperclassmen Demi Dykstra and Olivia Hodges reflect on what brought them to Western and how they've grown as student-athletes. They discuss lessons they've learned at Western and the team atmosphere this season.

Q: Major and year?
Demi: Elementary education major, and I'm a junior.
Olivia: I'm a sociology major and I'm a senior.

Q: What originally drew you to Western and why did it feel like the right fit for you as a student-athlete?
Demi: I've always grown up coming to Western games. My aunt and my mom played at Western. My dad went to Western, and then I watched two of my cousins recently play at Western, Avery and Riley. It's always been super cool watching them, and I've always known this is a really good program. Carmen and Stacey are great coaches and they're a winning program. That really drew me to them.
Olivia: Kind of piggybacking off of what Demi said, I'm a transfer student, so I was looking for something with a really strong woman lead, and also just the team dynamic here is amazing. The girls are so welcoming. And, of course, they have a winning legacy here. It's a great environment. It's beautiful. They just want you to always be the best version of yourself.

Q: Earliest basketball inspiration or favorite player?
Demi: My mom coached a high school team since I was a little kid. So I'd watch a lot of girls play basketball, and I've always looked up to them, especially my two older cousins, watching them play and grow and then come play college basketball. I really looked up to them.
Olivia: My earliest is probably my dad. My dad played basketball in college. So, I kind of grew up wanting to be like him. And I think my favorite player, I'm from L.A., the Lakers, so Kobe for sure. I love A'ja Wilson as well. I kind of just want to be like them. Dennis Rodman as well.

Q: Favorite WNBA or NBA team?
Olivia: I've always watched Golden State for the NBA, and I just got into watching the WNBA. So I don't really have a favorite team yet.
Demi: Lakers is my NBA team. And for the women's, I love the Sparks but I also love the Aces.

Q: Favorite jerseys to wear at Western?
Demi: I love the light blue.
Olivia: I like the light blue too.

Q: What is one thing you feel like you've improved upon skill-wise or mentality-wise since coming to Western?
Demi: I think being a point guard, I really have to control a lot that goes on the offense, and I was not very good at that my freshman year. I didn't like to call a lot of plays and just wanted to get the ball out of my hands. I think I've really improved in stepping up, running our offense and getting us into things.
Olivia: I think just my overall confidence in my ability. I didn't have much coming into here, hence why I was searching for it. I would just say being confident in what I can do, going to the basket without second-guessing myself, is what I've improved on most.

Q: Who has been the biggest influence on you as a player at Western and what have they taught you?
Demi: I'm going to say Carmen. In high school, I wasn't much of a scorer, I was mostly creating for others and that was mostly my job. And she just instilled so much confidence in me, that grew my game so much and I have a lot to thank her for that.
Olivia: I would say Carmen as well for me. I was the person that was looking for other people. I was kind of the garbage player. I would just go after other people's misses or try to get what I could. And I think she really instilled in me that I could score for myself and create for myself and believe in myself.

Q: How would you describe the culture of this team in three words and why those words?
Demi: Together. Unselfish. Fun. We want the best for each other, and this team has a lot of fun on and off the court.
Olivia: Together. Family. Accepting. We always have each other's backs. We accept people for who they are. It doesn't matter what you do off the floor or what your interests are. We bring different personalities together, and what happens off the floor affects what happens on the floor.

Q: What's something people might not realize about the work that goes into preparing for a game?
Demi: I think the coaches do a lot more than we do. They watch film. We play Thursday and Saturday, so after the Saturday game they start watching film on Sunday and preparing for the next week. But then we have to learn the scout, learn the plays, break presses and still get better ourselves.
Olivia: I feel like a lot of people don't realize how much multitasking goes into being a student-athlete. On the road, people think you're just catching flights and playing games. But you're going through scout and doing homework on the plane and going straight to practice. There's a lot of time management involved. It's not just playing basketball and coming back home.

Q: What does it mean for you guys to be leaders on this team?
Demi: It gives us a lot of responsibility. We have to do what we have to do, but we also have to bring other people with us.
Olivia: It comes with a lot of having to brush stuff off. You know, they look to you a lot more for what to do next, how to react and how to feel in a certain moment. That matters a lot in crunch games. I would just say it means you have to be ready all the time, for any circumstance, any type of game, because at the end of the day, the people under you are looking to you for what to do next and how to progress.

Q: What's one lesson basketball at Western has taught you that you'll carry with you beyond college?
Demi: Being thankful for everything you get and any challenge that comes to you. In the locker room on the wall, it says "no grumbling," so not complaining, taking every challenge and being thankful for the hard things too. That's something to take into life, not only basketball.
Olivia: Coming into Western, they've taught me how to have fun while playing. I feel like that's my biggest thing I've taken away from here. This is my first year playing in this sport that I've been playing like my whole life where this is the most fun, I've ever had. It's important to not stay in situations where you're not happy. Just make sure you're having fun.

Q: Looking ahead, what are your personal goals for the rest of the season and what do you hope this team accomplishes together?
Demi: Those two things are very similar for me. I just want to win and do everything I can for our team to win. Take on every game, every challenge, and do what we can to win that game and make it as far as we can.
Olivia: I want to keep giving to my teammates. Sometimes I don't like to talk, I just want to put my head down and work, but I can't do that all the time, I need be there for my teammates. As a team, staying together is the biggest thing. Games get tough, and staying together on the court is what matters.