The Wichita State women’s basketball team is young this year, which means it’s up to upperclassmen like Maya Brewer to lead them to victory. Brewer is a transfer student from State Fair Community College, where she led the team in scoring and managed more than five rebounds per game.

The switch from the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference to the American Athletic Conference doesn’t faze Brewer. Not even squaring off against Geno Auriemma’s legendary UConn squad.

“It’s nothing to be starstruck about,” Brewer said. “I’m going to take it like any other game.”

In spite of her newness to WSU, Brewer’s confidence and experience should pay off this year.

“I think my role is being a role model and example for the freshman — to share the stuff I’ve already experienced from all of the years I have under my belt at the college level,” Brewer said.

It’s exactly what Head Coach Keitha Adams expects from Brewer. It’s Brewer’s talent and experience, Adams said, that make her a great teammate in practices and that should translate to the court this season.

“Because of her experience and ability, we expect her to bring leadership and production,” Adams said. When asked which team members showed great leadership potential going forward, Brewer’s was the first name out of Adams’s mouth.

Though she’s confident in her abilities and the abilities of her teammates, Brewer said she knows fulfilling their full potential will take some work. She said the team is still getting to know each member’s strengths and weaknesses, and that once they have a better feel for that, they’ll be able to make big plays.

“We’re just taking it day by day and trying to get good chemistry going,” Brewer said.

She said she hopes the team will be able to pull together by the time by the time they hit the court for their first game Wednesday.

Brewer said she’s happy with her new team. She specifically mentioned the team’s spirit of comradery. Though the team is made up of many new players, Brewer said, “we’re all pretty close.”

Personally, Brewer’s positive mentality is bolstered not only from within the team but from outside of it as well. Brewer is thankful for the support she gets from her family in Kansas City. Despite the driving distance between her hometown and the team’s games in Wichita, Brewer said, “I can still get all my friends and family to come.”

Her team, Brewer said, feels like a family too. With her own confidence and a strong support network, she’s ready to make this season one to remember.