"Machine Gun" Maggie Lucas Takes Aim at Big Ten Record Book

It's been written before, but it bears repeating: Maggie Lucas can play.

To get you up to speed, the 5'9" Narberth native was an all-state selection each of her four seasons at Germantown Academy, led the Patriots to a state title her junior year, and won McDonald's and Parade All-American honors as a senior—the cumulative effect of which hit recruiters at the country's top women's basketball programs roughly the way meat does hungry animals. So, when her time at the Academy wrapped and she chose Penn State over Maryland, Boston College, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Vanderbilt, and the field, Lucas set the bar pretty high in Happy Valley.

And then she did something that surprised almost no one. She cleared it.

Last season the freshman shooting guard set school and Big Ten records in three-point shooting (finishing fourth nationally), a Lady Lion freshman record for scoring, took home the Big Ten Freshman and Sixth Man of the Year awards, and was voted Second Team All Big Ten by the media. And the Lady Lions, unranked in the preseason, went 25-10 before losing to DePaul in the second round of the NCAA Women's Tournament.

But now that "Machine Gun Maggie" is readying for the encore, she faces a unique problem. Where do you go from the top?

Apparently even higher.

"I expect my role to go up a little this year," Lucas told Patch on a rare off-day this week. "I understand the system more. I know the defense and the offense better. Sophomore year, you know what to expect going into the season. You have a whole 'nother year of strength and conditioning under your belt, which is huge because you don't necessarily get that in high school. Overall, I feel a lot more confident."

The confidence, Lucas says, also springs from the rigor of her offseason training regiment, which she completed largely in Narberth. Every morning this summer she'd shoot baskets with her father before he went to work, then head over to the Germantown Academy for weights, cardio, and pickup games, before meeting him back at the Narberth courts to shoot more in the evening. Sunrise to sunset. Wash, rinse, repeat.

"I was shooting a lot," admitted Lucas.

She works hard with reason. It's not just about the Big Ten. Her sights are set a little higher.

"After my time here is over, I want to just continue playing basketball, whether it be overseas or in the WNBA or both," Lucas said.

"I'm all about basketball in the future."

It's a future that looks pretty bright.

Lucas and the Lady Lions open their season on Nov. 11 against Washington State.