[00:01:20] NYU women’s basketball team guard Caroline Peper attributes her competitive spirit to playing basketball with her twin brother on her family’s driveway, a trait critical to her performance which helped the team win the NCAA Division III National Championship title last season. 

[00:15:27] The junior, who studies mathematics at the College of Arts & Science, has quickly made a name for herself both on and off of the court. 

[00:23:05] She was awarded UAA Rookie of the Year as a first-year and named a UAA Winter All-Academic last season. During the championship-winning season, she also led the team in three-pointers made. 

[00:34:00] In an interview with WSN, Peper discussed her perspective on this upcoming season and what she is doing to grow both on and off of the court. 

[00:43:05] WSN: So, your sophomore year with the NYU women’s basketball team culminated in you becoming the NCAA Division III champions. What was that moment like for you? 

[00:52:25] Peper: Honestly such a fever dream because it’s something as a collegiate athlete you dream of and to be able to do it — even now, I still, I can’t even believe it. But it’s still something that you want to try to get to every year. 

[01:10:02] WSN: What made you decide to attend NYU? 

[01:13:00] Peper: When I stepped foot on campus, I automatically knew that I wanted to come here. And the three coaches that had recruited me, I immediately fell in love with. They made me feel welcome. I knew that I could see myself being around them every day and they also acknowledged their belief in me, and the confidence that they had in me, which was really important. 

[01:40:17] WSN: Before you get on the court for a game, whether it’s an in-season game or a postseason game, what goes through your mind and do you think about anything in particular? 

[01:48:25] Peper: Most of the time I think about the other team more than anything. I don’t really think about myself. As long as I think about myself the least then I’m probably in a good spot. I overly analyze the other team, their personnel, their plays, things like that. 

[02:07:03] WSN: In what ways do you think that you’ve grown most since becoming a Violet? 

[02:11:13] Peper: On the court, in my ability to be a leader. I’m someone that’s a very introverted person, so being loud on the court is — was — difficult for me and I have really grown in that aspect and in being able to take criticism and things like that, that revolve around my sport. 

[02:34:00] WSN: Being part of that team that helped win that championship, do you feel that you are in a position of leadership to help those new team members get caught up to speed and hopefully help you guys reach the same success that you did last year? 

[02:47:01] Peper: Yeah, definitely. Leadership definitely stems from your experience on the court and we do have a lot of players that don’t have any experience yet. We talk a lot about what we’re doing on the court and there’s a lot of walkthrough and stuff. With time, it’ll come, but they’re right behind us. 

[03:06:13] WSN: How do you manage your time as a student-athlete? 

[03:09:15] Peper: Managing your time is definitely a difficult skill to have or build. When we’re in our UAA schedule, it’s very difficult to do, but also maintaining that academic integrity that ‘I want to perform well in the classroom’ is really important. I need to do whatever I can to be able to perform well in the classrooms. 

[03:28:12] WSN: As an athlete, do you find that you’re very in tune with what you need to do, both mentally and physically? 

[03:34:03] Peper: Yeah, I would say most of the time. I would say I want to be in tune with that, but sometimes you can’t get over a game or something like that, or a bad exam. Finding an outlet to get over that is really important and that’s something that I’ve navigated throughout my entire career. 

[03:57:07] WSN: I heard that you play the saxophone. 

[03:56:12] Peper: Yeah. Now I would consider it a hobby, but I had to play an instrument in middle school and I initially chose the clarinet and then they asked me to switch to play the tenor saxophone for the jazz band and I loved it immediately. So I played all throughout high school — played in the jazz band, regular concert band. It’s just a hobby that I think is completely different from what I normally do. 

[04:28:03] WSN: Do you think your musical background has elevated your athletics in any way?

[04:33:05] Peper: I think so. I think it has. If anything, it’s given me an outlet in my mental space, being able to do two different things, completely different things, at the same time. When you play the saxophone, I’m not thinking about playing basketball or vice versa, so that’s important to me, being able to create the separation from being on the court and then being away from it. 

[04:58:24] WSN: What are you and your team currently doing to build upon last year’s success? 

[05:03:04] Peper: We’re trying to build a new perspective on the way that things are going. We’re trying to dig deeper into doing it again and finding new ways to do it with a team that’s so new, with so many young players. 

[05:18:07] WSN: How do the high stakes of this season make you feel? 

[05:21:22] Peper: They’re the same high stakes as any other year. This year, we tend to have more of a target on our back, but the goal is still the same: to get where we were last year. And then also it’s game by game — we’re winning one game and then we’ll focus on the next.

Contact Katie Kubiak at [email protected].