Basketball at the collegiate level was an eye opener on a couple of levels for sophomore guard Desirae Hansen, who was named Big Sky Conference Co-Top Reserve following her freshman season as a Viking.
 
"I'm from a small town. I was used to being the tallest person on the court," said the 2019 co-recipient of the Alice and Alexander Taylor Endowed Scholarship for Women Athletes.
 
Not only were college players generally taller, the six-foot Hansen found herself on what may have been the tallest team in the Big Sky Conference with twin towers Jordan Stotler (6-4), a senior this season, and Courtney West (6-4), an Australian who graduated at the end of last season.
 
"I felt like a short person for the first time in my life," said Hansen.  
 
Stotler and West helped her learn how to play against the taller players she faced during the season, which saw the Vikings make the NCAA tournament after winning the Big Sky Championship. "Being able to practice with Jordan and Courtney really helped me transition to the college game," she said.
 
Hansen also said she found the college game to be different in just about every aspect. "The college game is a lot faster. Everything is just a couple notches higher," said Hansen.
 
To adjust, "I had to think more strategically…how to come off screens, how to attack the basket. I couldn't just attack the basket and go up and over the person guarding me. People told me that you're never ready for the next level. I thought I was, but I wasn't. My coaches and teammates kept encouraging me and helped keep my confidence up."
 
Head women's basketball coach Lynn Kennedy recruited her from Rainier and wasn't surprised at Hansen's adaptation to the college game.
 
"Typical of a lot of freshmen, she started really well, then in the middle of the season, she was trying to find her game and, at the end of the season, she came on again," said Kennedy. "She has such a wide range of skills for a guard. She can post up on the inside, shoot three's and she has a good feel for the game. She understands basketball."
 
Highlight during her first year, Hansen said, was winning the Big Sky Championship. And, it will take some doing to top that experience for her. Hansen's shot against Eastern Washington with 3.1 seconds left in the championship game gave the Vikings the 61-59 win and the title.
 
"The funny thing was, I was in the huddle and Coach Kennedy drew up the play. I wasn't supposed to shoot the ball," said Hansen.
 
In fact, there were three options on the final play, but the fadeaway jumper that Hansen hit wasn't among them. That will change this season, when Hansen will be the first option on more plays as a sophomore.
 
"Now she needs to take her game to the next level. She needs to take on a new role. Last year, she was our third, fourth of fifth option," Kennedy said.
 
Hansen was a good student at Rainier and didn't find the transition to college academics that difficult, although she said shifting from eight hours a day of classes in high school to only Tuesday and Thursday classes with a lot of on-line courses in college, took some getting used to.
 
Still, she was sporting a 3.29 GPA following her freshman year, and was taking a couple of classes in her major, criminology and criminal justice.
 
Last year, she felt she had to find her role. "A spark off the bench," was her description. Her goal this season is once again "to find and accept my role, and to succeed at it."
 
This season, said Kennedy, "she needs to play consistently at a high level, take shots when she's open, maybe shoot a little more…attack a bit, take over some games. We expect her to be one of the top players in the Big Sky."