By John Crumpacker
#WCChoops Columnist
 
When a team is down to two point guards and the starter is injured, the backup knows she will be on the court for a significant stretch. That’s what San Francisco’s Marianna Klavina prepared for as the Dons faced Portland on Thursday in the first round of the West Coast Conference women’s basketball tournament.

However, neither Klavina nor her coach, Molly Goodenbour, expected the freshman from the Latvian capital of Riga to play as well as she did. With a foot injury limiting starter Shannon Powell to the first three minutes of the game, Klavina came in to replace her and ended up scoring 22 points in USF’s 76-69 victory at the Orleans Arena.

WCC Sports sat down with Klavina after the game and peppered her with 5 Questions.

Q: What was your reaction to knowing you’d be playing most of the game?

A: Coach said before the game I need to be focused because I’m going to play a lot. They told me I cannot turn the ball over, so I focused on that. This was the time we needed to step up.’

Q: What went into your decision to come to USF?

A: When I started my senior year of high school, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go (to the U.S.) Coach Molly texted me and said she’ll be in Latvia in two weeks to see how I play. I’m really happy about my choice. I really love my team.’

Q: How do you like the City of San Francisco?

A: It’s lovely. I really like the weather. The school’s really nice. I love our coaching staff.’

Q: What is a typical meal in Latvia?

A: We eat a lot of pork and potatoes, cucumbers and tomatoes. Here the food is more mixed, like Mexican. I like steak. We don’t have a lot of steak at home.’’

Q: What would you like Americans to know about Latvia?

A: The Latvians are really shy but they’re really nice people. We have a good climate and the country’s beautiful. I really miss my home. I miss my mom and my friends. I want to spend time (in the summer) with my family and eat Latvian food.’’