By David Freeman
Sports Information Asst.

Once the fall semester is over, December is a pretty quiet time around campus. Unless of course, you’re a student-athlete participating in a winter sport like women’s basketball. And if you’re Peahens senior guard Tania Kennedy, December isn’t a quiet time at all.
The holiday break is prime time for basketball. The Peahens played eight games and practiced almost every other day during a period that most of Saint Peter’s students, faculty, and staff were taking it easy. Kennedy took it all in stride, “I said here I go again…I’d come home from a game and go on Facebook, and see all of my friends’ pictures - they’re are all hanging out in Florida at Christmas. But at the same time, they didn’t get the chance to experience what I experienced.”
As the only four-year senior on this year’s Peahen basketball team, this December was the final one of Tania’s college career. On December 13th in the Yanitelli Center gym, she became the 19th player in Peahens history to score 1,000 points. It was just one of many individual accolades she’s accumulated on the court in her career as a Peahen. But as happy as she should have been, she was more concerned that the Peahens lost that game to Seton Hall. It was the third of six losses for the Peahens in December. And although she and her teammates were playing as hard as they could, the Peahens went winless for the entire month of December.
It wasn’t the December any of them expected. Last year the Peahens won 19 games. Kennedy was selected to the All-MAAC First Team and was selected as the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year. But Tania first realized that things would be different during graduation ceremonies last year.  “I was like oh no, there she goes, ohhhh there she goes too”, Kennedy thought while teammates Johnell Burts, Laume Reke, Petagay Douse, and Marcenia Bellamy said goodbye to Saint Peter’s. Over the summer, five incoming freshman - Sakara House, Rebecca Lynch, Jynae Judson, Quiana Porter, and Jamie Smith moved on campus to take their places as Peahens. “It’s a whole different situation this year,” Kennedy realized. “My role is different - I have to do all the little things all the time because now I’m the one setting the example.”
But everyone soon realized that even though all five freshmen were talented high school players, college basketball was a new learning experience for all of them. By the end of December, the Peahens were starting to see results from their efforts. A big win against Delaware State brought 2009 in with a bang, as Porter and Judson had their best games so far this season. Against Loyola, Jamie Smith scored 17 points in the Peahens third straight home win. The Peahens won four straight at the Yanitelli Center in January, until a loss to nationally ranked Marist. And all the while, Tania continues her ascension up the all-time scoring list enjoying every minute that remains of her final season as a Peahen. “Basketball has been my love for a long while, and it’s going to be hard to let go. But we’ve still got a lot to do, so I’ll think about it later.” With eight games left before the MAAC Championship Tournament, including four more home games at the Yanitelli Center, there’s more than enough time to catch the end of one great Peahen career and the possible beginning of a few others.