![]() You have to keep your stats up.”īaptiste is able to do that while also enjoying the experience. “I learned that from the beginning when I was in Russia. “They replace Americans really quickly, so I know I need to be taking more shots,” Baptiste said. The players from outside the community are almost always Americans, and those Americans are expected to score. In some leagues, there cannot be more than two players who don’t qualify as domestic or community players. There are also a limited number of those players. In international leagues, the American players are usually the best on the team. She couldn’t be the sixth woman who brings energy off the bench or the defender who averaged less than nine points per game. To stay on the floor as a professional overseas, Baptiste finally had to step into that spotlight. “I would do whatever the team needed, and it made me a good role player,” Barnes said. She wanted to play more than she wanted to cling to a dream of being a star. She said that she was able to extend her own career by filling roles that needed to be filled. And I think the ones who last in this career, they’re able to do that.” She’s just like that, and not a lot of people are mature enough to be like that. If you say she needs to be a great cheerleader and lead the team, she’s going to do that. If you say you need a point-scorer for us to win, she’s going to do that. So, if you say she has to get 10 rebounds a game, she’s going to work her butt off to do it. So, whatever role you put her in, she’s going to accept. “She’s a selfless person and a great teammate. Baptiste was able to see the big picture. That meant less of a spotlight for individuals, but everyone got to share in the glory of the program’s first Final Four.īarnes knows that’s not how a lot of young players look at things. The rest of the team did what was asked of them so that McDonald could put them on her back. “It started with Coach Adia and her relationship with Aari,” Baptiste said. What was different about the team that took Arizona women’s basketball to a place it had never been? Barnes has learned that over the past two seasons when she has sometimes had difficulty managing those egos. It’s not always the case that players can put aside their egos. I knew to stay on the floor, I needed to be grabbing rebounds and playing defense, and I was good at those things.” I knew I was coming to a team with Aari, Cate, and Sam. Putting their egos aside and focusing on the task at hand was crucial. “That time at Arizona was the best time in my life,” Baptiste said.īaptiste and her Wildcat teammates, many of whom were also transfers, were able to come together as a team despite the pandemic and all of the difficulties of the 2020-21 season. That something special was a run to the national championship game where Arizona fell to Stanford by a score of 54-53. Then it was time to move on a third time.ĭespite saying that she wanted to play closer to home when she transferred from Va Tech, Baptiste was wooed by Barnes to head west and be part of something special. She stood out as the sixth woman for the Virginia Tech Hokies for two years. One strong year with the Lady Raiders and she was off to play NCAA Division I once again. She was on the postseason All-Tournament team that season. She returned closer to home to attend Northwest Florida State College, a junior college in her native state that is a power on the NJCAA Division I level. ![]() She asks questions.”Īn injury kept Baptiste out of her freshman season at Sam Houston State, and she was ready to make a move after that. ![]() “She likes to learn new things,” Barnes said. It doesn’t surprise Arizona head coach Adia Barnes because of how quickly Baptiste fit in when she joined the Wildcats. She’s been successful at each stop of her pro career, averaging over 18 points and 7 rebounds at each stop except for her rookie season in Russia. To add to that, she just became a naturalized citizen of Lebanon and will represent that country in international competition. Since leaving Arizona after the 2021 season, she’s played in five different countries plus attending the Indiana Fever’s training camp prior to the WNBA’s 2021 season. She spent five years in college, attending four different schools. You can get to know a lot about Baptiste from the way she has navigated her college and professional careers. “I don’t talk about it much, but people who know me know,” she said about her time in Huntsville, Texas. Former Wildcat forward Trinity Baptiste started her college career in 2016 at Sam Houston State. Her journey to Arizona was a winding one, and it didn’t start out like she had hoped. ![]()
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