Former McCaskey standout previews Marauders’ season

If you take a look at the 2008-09 Millersville University women’s basketball team photo, Jenna Philo is standing right smack dab in the middle of the group.

She’s not hard to miss – the former McCaskey star is the shortest player in the lot, and if you study the photo really closely, it looks like everyone else is dwarfing MU’s senior point guard.

But that’s OK.

Philo, a 5-5 senior, has a huge heart – and the game to match it.

Coming off a junior season in which she started all 30 games and led the team in assists and 3-pointers, Philo will once again be MU’s floor general in the coming months.

Playing for the Red Tornado in rough-and-tumble Section 1 toughened up Philo for the PSAC. So did playing baseball with the boys growing up. And after losing her mom to cancer, Philo has a new perspective on life.

She’s channeling all of those things onto the basketball court, where last year she helped MU reach the NCAA Division 2 playoffs.

And Philo, who scored 1,375 points during her days at McCaskey, has helped the Marauders to a quick 2-0 start this season, with wins over Columbia Union and Lock Haven.

Philo hit four 3-pointers and dished out a team-best eight assists in those first two games.

I chatted with Jenna last Saturday night after MU’s 101-30 rout over Columbia Union. We talked about her career up to this point, about some of things she’s had to deal with away from the court, about MU’s run last season, and about the Marauders’ goals for this season – her senior season running the point for MU.

You can listen to the interview by clicking on the ‘play’ button above.

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