What makes a warrior?

The term is usually associated with Roman gladiators or knights in shining armor, fighting against seemingly insurmountable odds. Often warriors are associated with ancient times, but there is a warrior in our midst right here in State College, and her name is Rashana Barnes.

If a warrior is measured by a willingness to fight and the ability to lead others into combat, Barnes is a prime example. The senior captain of the Penn State women's basketball team is a fighter, a leader, and a winner.

Lady Lions' head coach Rene Portland has referred to Barnes as "a warrior" all season because of the senior's ability to play through pain. When the Lions' preseason began in the fall, Barnes was inexplicably stricken with intense aching in her knees. The forward was in such discomfort that simple running and jumping drills were too much to bear.

"I just never experienced anything like it," Barnes said. "It just kept me from doing a lot of things. You try to do the things you used to do, and it was just really upsetting."

The pain couldn't have come at a worse time. The Philadelphia native was entering her senior season after three long years of hard work with the program. One of Barnes' preseason goals was to avenge a stinging first-round exit from the 2001 NCAA Championship Tournament at the hands of Texas Christian University. What's more, Barnes was about to take on a new leadership role as the lone senior starter on an inexperienced squad with 10 freshmen and sophomores in its ranks. And then — the aching knees.

"It's been a year where Rashana could have packed it in and said 'My knees hurt, I don't know if I want to deal with the 'Beanie Babies' that we have on this team, they're so young,' " Portland said.

But Barnes is anything but a quitter. She said she relished the challenge of being the elder stateswoman among a group of youngsters, even in the face of pain.

"I wouldn't have ever given up, but it did cross my mind," Barnes said. "I didn't know how I was going to deal with it, but luckily it took care of itself."

Barnes' saving grace came in the form of a simple idea by Portland and her staff. For the rest of the season, Barnes would alternate each day of practice with a day of rest. The gamble paid off, as Barnes' sore knees had time to recuperate and her pronounced early-season limp was slowly but surely erased. Portland has praised the senior's willingness to fight through adversity and the affect that demeanor has had on Barnes' teammates.

"She has really been a 'refuse-to-lose' kind of person on this team, and has really bred that kind of attitude through the kids," Portland said. "Even when she doesn't practice, she comes in the gym, she's very vocal, she has really taken ownership and shown a lot of maturity."

The 2002 edition of Rashana Barnes bears little resemblance to the shy and timid teenager who arrived at Penn State as a freshman in 1999. Barnes had been an exceptional player at West Catholic H.S. in Philadelphia, where she was the Philadelphia Inquirer's Player of the Year in 1998 and led her school to the Southern Division Championship as a senior. She had also served as Student Council President and a member of both the National Honor Society and school track team. But success did not come as easily for Barnes in her first year of college, and Happy Valley was not living up to its name.

"I came in here freshman year and I hated it," Barnes said. "Coming from high school, it's basically just cake compared to college. It was just in my face, basketball all the time, and the way it was presented to me I just didn't like it anymore."

Barnes' mother, Robyn, recalls that first year as extremely tough on her daughter, whom she described as humble and quiet but possessing a crazy sense of humor. Robyn and the rest of the Barnes family sent daily care packages to Rashana to help her survive grueling workouts and alleviate the loneliness of being on her own for the first time.

"For a person who worked so hard, it was tough," Robyn said. "She wanted to come home, she wanted to transfer. But Rashana never quit anything. She gutted it out, and it was not easy, but it was a learning experience."

Barnes credits her mother, a former high school and college basketball standout, with being her guide and her strength through the dark days.

"She's been my mother, my friend, she's been everything," Barnes said. "I wouldn't have made it if she wasn't the kind of person that she is."

Barnes went on to play in every game as a freshman off the bench and set a new school record for blocks by a first-year player with 36. As a sophomore she received the team's "Unsung Hero" award as she helped the Lions advance to their first-ever Final Four, where they played in Barnes' hometown of Philadelphia.

Now as a senior captain, Barnes has been a consistent producer on both ends of the floor and a cornerstone of Portland's young team. She is the Lions' second leading scorer with 9.8 points per game and leads the team in rebounds and blocks. Barnes has recorded eight double-doubles this season and was recently named to the coaches' All-Big Ten second team.

As one of only two seniors on the squad, Barnes was thrust into a leadership position this season. For a soft-spoken person whose voice is often barely audible at press conferences even with the aid of a microphone, that was no easy task.

"It's been difficult because I'm not a big talker, and when you're in that leadership role you have to talk even when there's not much to say," Barnes said. "You've got to b.s. a little. I usually just lead by example but with such a young team, you can't do that, you've got to be vocal."

Barnes and fellow senior Katrena Carr have earned respect and admiration from their teammates as well as from the Lions' fans, as evidenced by the emotional tribute they received on Senior Day against Michigan last month. Barnes also had an outpouring of support that day from a busload of nearly 70 friends and family members, including her grandparents and three sisters, who made the trek to State College.

"We could have filled a second bus," her mother Robyn recalled. "Even the nuns from high school came out on their own when they heard about it, not on the bus, but drove here on their own. When people make that effort, it means a lot."

As the Lions enter their first-round NCAA Tournament matchup against Chattanooga tomorrow at The Bryce Jordan Center, Barnes will have plenty of supporters cheering her on in person as well as in spirit. The senior hopes for redemption after last year's disappointing finish and said she is ready to get past the first round.

Regardless of how her career wraps up, Barnes said she is thankful for the memories and the opportunities she has had as a Lady Lion. The Letters, Arts, and Sciences major hopes for a possible career in sports marketing after graduation this in May. She is also engaged to Jimmy Kennedy, a defensive tackle on the Penn State football team. The couple has no date set for the marriage yet, as Kennedy still has another football season ahead of him. But whatever the future holds in store for her, Rashana the warrior will be ready.

"She went through 'Rene's Reality Class 101' and now she will be better prepared for the world than anyone else," Robyn said. "She learned what her limitations are, and has overcome much more than she thought she could."