West Virginia transfer guard Danni Nichols notes that it has always taken her time to work into a comfort zone at the beginning of a season. That's held true for her this year at WVU, where she recorded her two most productive scoring contests of the season on the Mountaineers' 2-0 trip to West Palm Beach last week.
In those games, which included wins over Georgia and Miami (OH), Nichols tallied 30 total points while going 12-19 from the field. She also had five assists and two blocked shots against just two turnovers, while also grabbing seven rebounds in helping the Mountaineers improve to 9-2 on the season.
"It's always taken me a little bit to warm up in new surroundings," said Nichols, who came to WVU after five years at Western Illinois. "It was like that my freshman year, when I was coming off a (high school) knee injury. This year I was able to warm up a little quicker and get used to my new teammates."
"It's taken time, but you can tell we were still new to each other and a new team," she said of the learning process that the team, under first-year head coach Dawn Plitzuweit, has traversed. "But I think you can tell how we have grown as a team from our first game to the games in West Palm."
It's not as if Nichols wasn't contributing at all through WVU's first nine games, though. Playing between 15 and 25 minutes per contest, she scored 10 points against North Carolina Central and had nine against three other foes, while averaging 6.6 points per outing, but she clearly hit her stride against the Bulldogs and RedHawks.
That also followed the career path she laid down at Western Illinois, where her scoring totals improved from 8.4 ppg as a freshman to 15.8 a year ago. She shot 50.1% from the field and 32.8% from 3-point range for the Leathernecks, and has bumped those at at WVU, hitting 60.7% and 50%, respectively.
One of the other items she has adjusted to is beginning the game on the bench, which is a new role for her.
"(Not starting) isn't something I was used to, but I've been a lot more comfortable than I thought I would be," said Nichols, who started 101 games at Western Illinois. "I think I was afraid I'd be cold off the bench, but I think I've found a way to come in and produce off the bench."
With seven players on the roster who have transferred to WVU from other four-year schools, there were many adjustments to make. Roles had to be figured out and defined, strengths accounted for, synergies developed. Having players like Nichols figure out how they can best help without causing any drama – something that was present on some recent Mountaineer teams – has been very important in helping this year's edition get off to a good start.
West Virginia gets back into action at home against Oklahoma (10-1) at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 31. The Sooners are No. 56 in the most recent iteration of the NCAA NET, while WVU stands at No. 75.
"We are ready to get started in the conference. It's going to be exciting and fun," the Columbia, Missouri native said. "It's a challenge, but it's a good one and we are looking forward to it."
