Lange wraps up remarkable Kean career as an All-American

By Eric Salas | Published by April 23, 2020

Determined, poised, and self-assured doesn’t even begin to describe the outstanding year Payce Lange had in her senior season as a Kean Women’s Basketball player. On March 24, Lange was selected as Honorable Mention by D3hoops.com on their 2020 Division III Women’s Basketball All-American team. 

“It truly is such an amazing feeling,” Lange said. “On a personal level, it’s such a great feeling knowing that all the hard work and extra hours I put in on my own time was fully acknowledged.”

Lange made sure to leave her mark in her final season by capping off her year finishing 33rd in all of Division III in points per game (19.2) and finishing in the top 100 in steals per game. Not only that but she also made her presence known on the boards by averaging 6.7 rebounds per game. Throughout her four-year career at Kean, she tallied a total of 1,221 career points and in doing so became the 20th player in program history to surpass the 1,000 point mark.

“I came into my senior season just like every other season knowing I had high expectations and goals for myself and the team,” Lange said. “I never would let myself be outworked and I consistently had that ‘all-in’ mentality on and off the court because I was not going to let anything or anyone get in my way to reach my highest potential academically and athletically.” 

On top of All-American honors, Lange achieved other accolades as well which include being named New Jersey Athletic Conference Player of the Year for the 2019-20 season in addition to first-team honors. She became the second Cougar in program history to earn the D3hoops.com honor.

As a team, the Cougars finished with a 17-9 overall record, a 13-5 record in the Atlantic region,  and made their second straight appearance as the third seed in the NJAC tournament. According to KeanAthletics.com, the team averaged 68.2 points per game, while shooting 38.6 from the field, 27.9% from behind the three-point line and 61.8% from the free-throw line. 

Lange went on to express that the team played a significant role in her success and that they all have a very tight relationship with one another.

“My team and I are honestly one big family,” Lange said. “My teammates made every moment of mine special, every day we all worked tirelessly to make sure that we were pushing ourselves and each other to the highest degree. I will forever be grateful for the teammates that I consider family and I know they will always have my back just like they did through my four years.”

A significant detail to look at is the increased improvement throughout her career and how much of a jump in numbers was made year to year. 

Freshman year she averaged just 2.6 points playing 24 games with only 11 minutes per game. Sophomore year she played and started all 24 games averaging 11 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2 steals per contest. Junior year she played and started all 28 games that season averaging 14.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.1 steals, and 2.0 assists. 

This upward incline led to her final season is the best of her career making the best of her whopping 33 minutes per game and it most certainly wasn’t a coincidence. Lange made sure her drive never slowed down and continuously worked on every aspect of her game.

“I believe each year I got stronger, more disciplined, and more consistent,” Lange said. “I got more sophisticated in the paint and improved my short/long-range jumper if the paint was denied, always willing to take my defender off the dribble. I worked hard at being a player you didn’t want to defend.”

Lange then emphasized her desire to stay hungry and never settle so that she would work on bettering her game and herself personally.

“I focused on all areas where improvement could always be,” Lange said.“Every day I would put in extra hours on the court getting shots up, dribbling drills, driving the paint, extra hours on the track, and in the weight room. I always worked hard even if nobody was watching.”

While Lange will not be playing for the Cougars next year, younger players will now get to showcase what they have to offer and get the opportunity to follow in similar footsteps. Lange offered words of encouragement for those now taking the next step.

“My advice would be to never take the sport you love for granted,” Lange said. “Your college experience only lasts for four years and it flies by. When you aren’t working hard, someone else is and you are only hurting yourself. You have to work to your highest potential.”

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