Player: Emily Drivstuen
Year: Junior
School: Northwest University
Sport: Basketball
Hometown: Monroe (Monroe High School)
What she did: Scored 27 points and added 11 rebounds in Northwest University’s 82-62 win over Concordia on Saturday night, helping the Eagles snap a four-game losing streak. Drivstuen averaged 20.5 points in two games over the weekend.
What’s next: Drivstuen and the Eagles (7-8) play host Oregon Institute of Technology and Southern Oregon in a pair of games at the NU campus in Kirkland.
The two-minute drill
You had 27 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Concordia over the weekend. Can we count that as one of the best games of your career?
Yeah, definitely — from a personal standpoint, as well as from a team standpoint. We all fed off each other’s energy and pumped each other up. We all had our personal-best games. It was just one of those games. We just played really well. We definitely needed a win, and we knew it.
As luck would have it, your teammate, Jessalyn Jackson, overshadowed that performance with a triple-double of her own.
Yeah, definitely. She lit it up that night — as she does every night.
She had 27 points, 14 rebounds and 13 blocked shots. Tell us, how does someone block 13 shots in a single game?
I don’t know why they kept trying to shoot. Every time they drove in, she was there. We always depend on her to block. Our defense relies on having her back there for help defense. She has a huge reach; it’s amazing. I think her wingspan is at least 6-foot-3.
I thought maybe she was playing against toddlers. I don’t mean to brag, but I blocked 13 shots from my 2-year old last week …
(Laughs) No, yeah. She’s crazy. There was, like, four in one play.
Let’s talk about some other stuff going on in the sports world. This weekend is the hardwood version of the Apple Cup. So do you root for the Huskies or Cougars?
I’m a Husky fan, for sure. My whole family is, and some friends of mine played for the Huskies. I grew up a Husky fan.
So are you making any predictions about this weekend’s games? Are the Huskies going to win?
Definitely, on the men’s side. The men are going to kill it. I’m hoping the women do too, but I don’t know. I haven’t really been following them that closely.
What about the Storm? Are you more like Sue Bird? Or Lauren Jackson?
I don’t even follow WNBA, to be honest.
What about the NBA?
Definitely. I loved the Sonics. I’ve always been a Kobe fan, and always, always a Gary Payton fan. I watched Gary Payton growing up. So I was definitely a Sonics fan.
Does that mean you hate the NBA now, since they up and moved our team?
No. I love the NBA. I think they play a lot harder than they did before. They’re stepping it up. I love it. I’m watching it every night.
Who’s your team now?
I am a Lakers fan.
Can you be a Lakers fan and a Sonics fan? I thought we were supposed to hate the Lakers.
I know, right? The really crazy thing is, I’m a Celtics fan, too. Just for Ray Allen, though.
That’s understandable. So have you gotten Tebow fever yet?
Oh, yeah. Definitely. My boyfriend is a Denver fan. So I always follow that.
If your boyfriend’s a Denver fan, I would think you’d be tired of hearing about Tebow by now.
No, I love him. He’s got a great attitude on him. He’s a good Christian boy.
Other than sports, what do you like to do?
I’m super into music. I play guitar. I like school. I like business; I’m a business major. I’m just focusing on that and what I might do out of college.
What might that be?
Who knows? Maybe something in sales.
Maybe you could make a ton of money and bring an NBA team back to Seattle.
That would take a lot of money, so I don’t know. But, yeah, I’d love to bring NBA back.
We’re going to hold you to that. If you become a billionaire, you’re buying an NBA team for Seattle.
OK. (Laughs)
And maybe Jessalyn Jackson, with that wingspan of hers, might be your first pick?
For sure. Definitely.
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