Sanda Lin Representing Home Country Taiwan and Thriving as Women’s Basketball’s Point Guard


By: By John Kelley, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations

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MOREHEAD, Ky. — Junior guard Sandra Lintransferred to Morehead State this year after spending the past three seasons at Georgia Highlands College. Originally from Hsinchu, Taiwan, Lin is one of the only Taiwanese players in all of Division I women’s basketball.

When looking to transfer over the offseason, Lin chose MSU over multiple other suitors in large part due to her desire to one day be a strength and performance coach.

“The first thing I looked at were the majors,” said Lin. “I wanted to do exercise science and out of all the schools that offered me, Morehead State was the only school that had the program.”

In addition to academics, Head Coach Cayla Petree also played a big role in Lin’s move from Rome, Ga., to Morehead.

“I talked to Coach Petree and she told me she wanted to build a new culture here. The way she wanted to play is the same way that I like to play. Even though we are in the rebuilding process, it is a chance for me to learn and have a lot of playing time.”

In Coach Petree’s system, Lin is averaging 31.7 minutes per game, which is a team high.

This combination of extended playing time and a system that plays to her strengths has led Lin to become the OVC assists leader. When asked about her favorite players, she gave two names in response.

“For women’s basketball I’d say Kelsey Plum (current WNBA player for Las Vegas), and when I started playing basketball, I would watch Dwayne Wade.”

With two great ball distributors as her idols, it is no wonder that she excels at dishing the rock. Growing up, Sandra first picked up a basketball as a means of making friends. After transferring schools in the 3rd grade, she found herself in a situation where she was surrounded by people she didn’t know. That was until one day, when a classmate approached her to play a game of basketball.

“I realized that when I play basketball, I don’t need to talk to make friends. Basketball just brought me some. That’s when I started to like playing basketball because it’s a team, so I can hang around with people and it doesn’t require me to talk a lot.”

This sense of community and friendship, which led her to fall in love with the game as a child, is a main reason she feels at home in Morehead.

“In Georgia, where it was a JUCO with a lot of different campuses, I only talked to athletes. But here, I’ve met some classmates and made a lot of friends,” she added. “I see more people, and they are nice. I can talk to people who just walked past me”.

As the season winds down, Lin and the rest of the Eagles look to finish strong on a campaign that is a significant improvement from the previous one.

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