Interviews by Nick Schwada

TCP: Who are your top three favorite artists?

Paige Downer: Mac Miller, DaBaby and Ella Mai.

Kat Hilton: Can we just have the same ones? I mean, we’re roommates so we kind of listen to a lot of the same music.

K’wan Carter: Roddy Ricch, Rod Wave and Lil Wayne.

Rob Ford: Lil Wayne, Nipsey and, I don’t know, throw in Drake.

 

TCP: What’s your favorite sports team?

Kat Hilton: The Cougars.

Paige Downer: Either the Blazers, or both Oregon and Oregon State’s women’s basketball teams are really good this year.

K’wan Carter: NFL-wise I like the Saints. Basketball? LA show, you know? It’s Lakeshow, West Coast best coast. Come on now.

Rob Ford: I only really watch the playoffs, so I don’t really keep close with a team. I’m from Portland, so I mean, I like the Blazers.

 

TCP: Do you have any players that you model your game after?

Paige Downer: I’d say either Damian Lillard or Steph Curry.

Kat Hilton: For me, softball is my main sport. So for softball I’d say Sis Bates from University of Washington.

K’wan Carter: I try to model it as a Patrick Beverly. Just an all-out-dog on defense.

Rob Ford: Allen Iverson.

 

TCP: What is it about your team’s mentality that allows you to stay in games and stay competitive?

Paige Downer: I mean, I don’t think anyone likes losing. We’re all here for a reason. We’re not going to show up and be like, “Oh, you know, let’s play, let’s have fun.” We want to win. We know we’re good and we love playing together.

Kat Hilton: I think a lot of it is that Kurt [Guelsdorf] and Jim [Martineau] really hold us accountable. Not only are they coaching us, but they remind us why we want to play and why we’re here.

 

TCP: You clearly both take a lot of pride in your defense. What does it take mentally capable of putting in so much effort and also be effective on both sides of the ball?

Carter: With me, basically it’s just showing who’s got the bigger heart. It’s mind over matter to me.

Ford: I agree, it’s just whose got the biggest heart, you know? At the end of the day, who want it more?

 

TCP: What are some things you worked during the offseason?

Kat Hilton: Coach [Kurt Guelsdorf] personally wrote out what he wanted each of us to work on. So, over the summer, whenever I could get in the gym I’d just go shoot around you know.

Paige Downer: For me, I would say it’s probably more mental. I wanted to work on my mentality because I get mad at myself easily you know? I know I can do better and I push myself kind of hard, so I wanted to be a better leader and I kind of wanted to just be positive for the team.

K’wan Carter: Really it was just more conditioning because I do run track. It’s mostly running, really. Conditioning-wise, just getting my lungs together was most of it.

Rob Ford: Just in the gym, putting up shots, you know, getting the core right. And then we’d gotten here a little early with our team, got practices going and got people building chemistry.

 

TCP: What are your plans after CCC?

Kat Hilton: I would like to move on to a four year, continue my education and hopefully go somewhere to play softball.

Paige Downer: After this, I’m probably going to be hanging up the shoes. I’m going to focus on my major, (accounting) and decide where to go, so, kind of just focus on that. Figure out what I want to do in the future and stuff, it’s definitely gonna be hard not playing basketball, but I think it’s time to just focus on that.

K’wan Carter: I’m planning on going to the next level at a four year.

Rob Ford: Right now I’m just playing basketball and having fun, but I’m holding offers from Pacific University, PSU, Concordia, Western Oregon, Cal. State Dominguez. Right now I’m just playing.