Former Emmaus basketball standout Drea Watkins couldn't have asked for a better start to her college basketball career, especially considering the circumstances. Not only did Watkins have to adapt to the college game playing for Penn State Lehigh Valley, but she had to do so playing point guard, a position that she had never played before. The results turned out better than anybody could have hoped.

Watkins put together a big season, walking away with plenty of honors, including being the Penn State University Athletic Conference top scorer, averaging 19.2 points per game. She was also named the conference's Newcomer of the Year and was on the All-Conference First Team.

In the United States Collegiate Athletic Association, Watkins was a second team All-American and was named to the All-Tournament team, scoring 38 points in two USCAA Tournament games to Penn State Lehigh Valley to the semifinals.

"I was hoping to come in and do well, of course, but I never could have imagined having the season go as well as it did," said Watkins. "I had never played point guard before, so that took some adjusting, but I was able to pick it up pretty quickly and really enjoyed the change."

The Lady Lions finished the regular season 16-5 and went into the USCAA Tournament as the number three seed, beating sixth seeded Southern Maine Community College 74-67 in the quarterfinals. Watkins led Penn State with 24 points in the win, sending them to the conference semifinals, where they were knocked off by Penn State Beaver, who went on to win the USCAA Championship. The trip marked the first time in the tournament for Penn State Lehigh Valley.

"It was amazing," said Watkins. "We have some good players and we all worked very hard. It was disappointing to lose, but we made a good run and we should have another good team next season."

In addition to the adjustments that she had to make on the court, the academic side brought a lot of adjustments for Watkins as well. Watkins admitted that she might do things a little differently if she had the chance to go back to high school and when asked what advice she would give to players at Emmaus, she addressed the off the court side of the game.

"I think just to realize how important the academic side really is," she said. "I know that for me, I didn't really realize just how important that all is until I got to Penn State. As great as sports are and how great it is to have made lifelong friends in high school, you have to understand that the academics are what's going to impact the rest of your life.

"In college, there's nobody there to make you be in class and make you do the work, you just have to realize that the responsibility is now all on you to do well."

Watkins believes she made the right choice when she chose Penn State Lehigh Valley, since it's given her not only a good education, but the chance to be close to home, see friends and even take in an occasional high school game.

She still has an interest in the Emmaus team, not only because it's her alma mater, but because her younger sister, Destanee is on the team.

"I know they had a tough year, but they'll be okay," said Watkins. "They just have to keep working hard and they'll be okay."