How would you describe the season so far?

It’s completely different from last season – we struggled a little bit. This season we all put in a ton of work in the offseason. We started off great, and I think our momentum has led us to keep winning, gave us some confidence, and I think we’re ready to go now.

How did the team feel after the 0-7 start?

We knew were playing a bunch of big teams, but we knew we could beat them. We didn’t really look at it as any different game. We came in, we played our hardest and it didn’t end up our way. It definitely didn’t give us a lot of confidence, but we knew from playing those big teams coming into conference we’d be more than ready. I think it’s shown that we were.

What was it like coming off the bench and playing well?

With Rachel (Galligan) going down definitely we needed someone to step up, and I loved to. Sitting the bench isn’t fun. When I got in there, I knew it was my time to pick things up. I had to pick up where Rachel left off. Her being out was definitely a negative presence for us. We had girls like Julie Lipperd and Marie Baker stepping up in practice. They were pushing me 10 times harder knowing Rachel was out. With her being out, it gave me a little confidence for when she came back. I knew I could pick things up even when she’s back.

Is the thought of both you and Rachel playing together exciting?

Obviously that would be great. We’re enjoying it. We just started a new offense running with us – a high-low offense. It takes a little time to learn. (Coach Brady Sallee) doesn’t want to throw it on us at once, but I think pretty soon we’re going to get it down and I think it’s going to look really good. With our new high-low offense, it’s me playing as a (power forward) and Rachel playing as a (center). One goes high post, one low. We’re just trying to get each other the ball. It’s more of a power offense than where we just have one post in. I think both our strengths together will really help us in that offense.

What’s been your favorite road trip?

Well the past season, I would say last season at Missouri get snowed in. Ellen (Canale) was my roommate, and we had huge beds in there so it was great. We didn’t mind getting snowed in at all. All the streets were snowed in, so we had to walk a couple blocks to go get dinner. We had a good time there. It was fun.

What do you think about your new, road warm-ups?

The astronaut suits. I just remember we were originally going in to coach’s office to try them on. At first, we thought we looked like 50 Cent or something. We just looked goofy. I forget who started the “astronaut suits.” It just kind of stuck. They’re really cool suits. They’re awesome compared to our last year’s one. But we do like astronauts in them.

What do you think Galligan’s future holds?

If she wants to go overseas, she could play overseas. If she wants to go WNBA, she could do that too. I’ve been hearing overseas more than WNBA, so that would be really cool for her. She could get over there and play some more basketball after college and definitely see a lot of places and meet a lot of new people. I think whatever she wants to do; she’ll be able to do it.

What about your future?

I don’t know. I know I want to be a lawyer and go to law school. Basketball-wise I’m not sure. I’m not sure if by my senior year I’ll be ready to put it down. I’m just taking it day-by-day and year-by-year, and we’ll see in the future if I do want to keep playing or if I want to stop and rely on going back to school and getting a law degree.

Are you in pre-law?

I’m a political science major and a Spanish minor. My dad’s a lawyer, and I’m really interested in politics. I like it now, and right now that’s what I want to do. Things might change, but as of now I’m having a really good time with my major and all my classes. That’s what I’m sticking with.

What presidential candidate are you supporting?

I’m a Barack Obama fan, so I’m pretty excited we got a big win (at the Iowa Caucus). I think a lot of the Democratic candidates are good. I like Hillary Clinton too, but right now I’m a Barack fan. I’m excited for all this. It’s an exciting time for politics, and it’s interesting to watch being an Obama fan.

Do you try to persuade your teammates to be Obama fans?

Yeah. Ellen (Canale) is always so interested in talking politics with me. I love it. Some of them like Jess (Huffman), she’s always just like, “I have no idea.” I don’t know if she likes it or not, but she likes listening to me talk about it. I have a fun time trying to tell people who’s the best candidate.

What else do you like about politics?

I’ve always wanted to be a doctor, and then I realized once I started taking science classes in high school that science wasn’t my thing. Then I started watching more TV, reading more books and law sounded cool. It wasn’t just because of my dad. I do like talking with him about it and hearing what he does everyday. It sounds like such a cool job, and it’s something new everyday. I’m not just sitting in an office writing papers; doing the same thing everyday. I think that’s what is interesting to me. That’s what makes me want to be a lawyer. I was student council vice president for four years (in high school). We had tons of little groups that talked about politics. I went to all those meetings. I was totally into all that in high school.

What have you done politically since high school?

I don’t really have time to do all that. I watch it, and I read about all the protests. With basketball, I can’t really have time to do too much other than get in the gym.

What kind of law do you want to practice?

My dad is a criminal lawyer, and I always thought that was cool but that’s just a little too much for me. Because I wanted to be a doctor, I’m interested in malpractice and stuff like that where I could be around it and still do what I wanted to do. Law school will help me decide. I still have four years of that to go through, and I’m going to learn a lot there and learn what I want to do there.

What’s it like working with Coach Timmons?

Quacy is like a pro with what she’s doing. She knows everything, the ins and outs of post defense, post offense. She played at Indiana. She played in the WNBA. It’s hard to not to trust what she’s saying. She’s great at what she does. She’s helped all of us become so much better players. She pushes us around. She wants us to be so great that her standards for us are pretty high. Every day at practice we have to do practice likes it a game or else she won’t be satisfied. We want to please her because she’s our post coach. She’s really pushing all of us to be great.

What did you do during the summer?

During the summer I had a trainer back home. He works with a lot of professional hockey players and baseball players. I started working out with him, and I think he really helped me out. I worked out with him four days a week, and we’d run and we’d lift. It really paid off because coming back here I made my mile time and I was doing 100 percent at our lifting tests. I think our whole team; everyone was dedicated this summer because we knew losing wasn’t great. We didn’t have fun last year. Nothing about it was fun. I think everyone took that to heart and gave it their all this offseason. And it’s paying off right now for all of us.

What’s it like to be a twin?

I absolutely love it. It’s like having a best friend with you nonstop. It’s like having a sleepover every night. We’re best friends, and we just have a blast together. She’s a great person, and she has such a good heart. She looks out for everyone and puts others before herself all the time.

Do you have any other siblings?

I have an older brother who is 22, and he goes to school here. My oldest brother is 24. He graduated from St. Mary’s in Winona, and he played basketball. He’s been a big inspiration to me. He’ll calls me up right after the games and tells me what I need to do better. It’s great having my brother (at Eastern). He’s supporting me. He brings all his friends to the game. They’re great. We need fans, and him and his buddies come and support (us) all the time. I have a good family life.

Who is your roommate?

Lauren Sturtevant is my roommate. We have been for the past two years. If you know Lauren, she’s that kind of girl that’s focused. She’s a pre-med major right now and at the library all the time. She makes me want to study more because I feel like I’m not doing enough with her as a roommate. She’s a focused individual. She knows what she wants and she gets it.

What’s your favorite place to eat in Charleston?

Lately I know me and Jess (Huffman) – our new favorite hot spot is El Pueblo – the new Mexican restaurant, but you can only have that so much. I’m a Jimmy John’s fan. It gets old, but I would say El Pueblo is our new hotspot.

What are some of your favorite TV shows?

Our whole team was fans of “Grey’s Anatomy” and then the writers went on strike, which was a huge bummer. We watch all those stupid shows you could watch. We watch “The Hills” in my room every Monday night. Then we have “Newport Harbor.” We’re nuts about the reality TV shows. I love “That 70’s Show.” You name it; I probably like it.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

I’d probably like fly. That would be really cool. I’m sure my friends would all want me to give them rides and fly them around places, but I think it would be worth it. I would definitely like to fly. That would be awesome.

What are some of your favorite sports teams?

My brothers are die-hard (Chicago White) Sox fans. I am a (Chicago) Cubs fan. I like the Bulls too. I was totally a Bulls junkie back in the day when they were winning all those championships. Michael Jordan is a hero to every kid around our age. I’m a total Chicago fan I would say.

Who is your favorite female basketball player?

I think Seimone Augustus was an amazing basketball player. She really embodied what a true Division I college basketball player should be like. She was strong. She was athletic. She could hit clutch shots.

What’s your favorite type of music?

I’m into Jack’s Mannequin and Ted Wheel and the Pharmacist. Kind of weirder bands – smaller ones I think are great. I love Bob Dylan. I think he’s brilliant. I’m into some older, classic bands, but I do like the new era coming up – the new hip-hop, rap. I’m surrounded by it all day long. Jess Huffman blares rap nonstop.

Any special talents?

I have zero special talents. I’m a great dancer. Me and Lindsey are pretty good dancers. We like to pride ourselves on that. We think we’re good dancers and we’re not. I think Lindsey is actually convinced she’s a good dancer. I kid around. I know I’m not good.

Kevin Murphy may be reached at 581-7944 or at kjmurphy@eiu.edu.

Sophomore forward Maggie Kloak spends her time off the court reading and studying law and listening to bands like Ted Wheel and the Pharmacist. (Robbie Wroblewski/The Daily Eastern News)

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