Jessalyn Deveny has always been an excellent athlete, but surprisingly, the first sport in which she found success was baton twirling. Picking up the baton at age three, she soon was collecting trophies and competing on a national level.

By the time she was 11, however, Deveny's interest had shifted to soccer and basketball, and she chose to give up twirling. But her success on the court since then indicates that she made the right choice.

At Westford (Mass.) Academy, Deveny led the state in scoring as a senior, averaging 32.5 points per game during the 2000-2001 season. She was named Gatorade Massachusetts Player of the Year in 2000 and 2001, a Nike All-American in 2000, and the USA Today Massachusetts Player of the Year in 2001.

Deveny decided to attend Boston College, but her collegiate career got off to a slow start. She suffered a stress fracture before the season, and missed several games. But she returned to play 21 games, averaging 6 points and 3 rebounds while playing 13 minutes per game. The Eagles advanced to the NCAA tournament, but fell to Mississippi State in the first round.

With her injury behind her, Deveny's sophomore year got off to a much better start and she moved into the starting lineup. Earlier this season, she poured in 36 points against Providence, and she has relied on her consistent shooting to become the Eagles' top scoring threat. Through 16 games, Deveny is averaging 18.3 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 57 percent from the field. The Eagles currently have a 12-4 record through January 22.

In the following interview, Deveny talks about life in the Big East, playing against powerful UConn, and how twirling has helped her hoops game.

You had your best-ever scoring game against Providence this season. Did you feel like you were in the groove?
I was pretty much on that game. I was feeling it shooting wise, and my teammates were getting me the ball. Overall, it was a good game for us, which was important, because it was the first Big East game of the year and we wanted to show the other teams what we're all about. But personally, I was shooting pretty well, so I kept trying them and they kept going in.

What was it like to go down to Connecticut last year, when they were obviously the best team in the country?
We went down to Gampel Arena, and that place is absolutely crazy. I had never been there before, I had only seen it on television. But being in that atmosphere was amazing. All the fans were such diehards--loud, obnoxious. That was the game I think I was most nervous in, just because I was playing against UConn in their arena.

What was like to play against them?
Their starting five was like taking the best player off the other top teams, and putting them all on one team. Sue Bird was running everything, and they had the overall attack with Diana Taurasi and the big girls inside. There were no weak spots at all. They were definitely were unbelievable last year.

What's your team's mindset before a game like that?
You can't go in there and think you're going to lose. You just prepare as well as you can, and that's what our coaches did--prepared for the game like it was any other team. But individually you do feel that extra pressure, because it is UConn. So you just prepare, and try to remember that any game can go either way. And maybe you'll get lucky that night. But nobody had that luck against UConn last year.

When and why did you decide to attend Boston College?
I decided May of my junior year, but I had a long history of wanting to come here since I am from the Boston area. The team is an up-and-coming team, and I always wanted to be on a team that would beat UConn, because that's the team all the others were trying to top.

BC is great academically and athletically, and a great college atmosphere to be in. I was recruited by quite a few other schools, but I knew I wanted to come here, so I didn't really consider anyplace else. When they did offer me a scholarship here, I accepted right away, and I don't regret it at all.

Is it hard to balance academics and basketball?
It's been a challenge, definitely, but I feel like I've done a good job with it. I did have to take a final the morning of our NCAA game last year, which was a little hectic. But we have a great support system here, and they help us through it. So it's a challenge, but not one you can't handle.

Why did you choose to major in psychology?
I've always been interested in helping people, learning how the mind works, and personality. It was my interest coming into school, and it still is. So we'll see where it takes me.

How long did it take to adjust to college ball?
It was an adjustment period from the time I got back from injury until there were five or six games left in the season. The biggest thing was the quickness, and just being in the game and making the reads. It took a while not to be nervous and being confident that I could play at that level. It was overwhelming at first, but once I realized I can be in the game and play with the other girls, it came a lot easier.

Was your stress fracture last season your first serious injury?
It was the first one that caused me to miss games. I missed the first game of the season, which was disappointing, but by the end of the season I came back pretty strong and ended on a good note, ready to come into this year.

Why do you wear 00 as your number?
I've worn that number forever, since starting out when I was 12 playing AAU ball. I picked it because it was something different, I like to have that unique number, even though it's not so unique anymore, it's unique for a guard. My dad thought I was a [former Boston Celtics great] Robert Parish fan, but that was a little before my time.

Who were your role models growing up?
It's funny, I idolized Brianne Stepherson, who's now the point guard on our team here. All through her high school career, I was watching her since she's four years older than me. I got to watch her growing up while coming out of middle school, and my freshman year at Westford we played her team when she was a senior. It was the last game of her high school career--it was in the state tournament and we beat them. It was a pretty cool experience. But I always looked up to her growing up.

Have your patterned your game after other players?
Not really. I like to try to be my own player. I try to have that all-around game, so there's not one thing that I'd call my strength. Pretty much doing everything is what I try to do.

What do you for fun up in Boston?
Sometimes we have time to do things, especially before and after the season. The team will head into the city and hang out. We try to live a semi-normal college life, but sometimes it's difficult. We have fun, but nothing in particular--it's just kind of spontaneous.

Tell us about baton twirling. It sounds like you took it to a high level.
Probably to the highest level you can get to. I started when I was three years old, and it turned pretty competitive. I competed individually, and went to nationals at the University of Notre Dame seven years in a row. I would take lessons every weekend from my teacher, who was the featured twirler here at BC. So I'd come here and practice. And I practiced a lot with my mother.

When I look back on it, it really helped me out. It really gave me that poise and extra confidence to be out there individually. Now that I'm with a team, it's a bit easier and takes the pressure off. It also really helped me out with coordination. And it was a lot of fun while I was doing it, but I think I got a little bit burned out practicing every single day by myself with just my mom.

Last year, BC got to the NCAAs but went out in the first round. What is the team's goal this season?
Right now, our goal is to make as far as possible in the tournament. We definitely want to make it at least to the second round since we've never done that yet. We also want to place pretty highly in, if not win, the Big East. It's still early in the season, so there's lots of time, and once we get into the Big East tournament, we want to end with a bang.

Interview conducted by Gball Editor Jim Catalano.


Check out our Q&A archives by clicking here