Player number 21 for the WSU women’s basketball team is an unbelievable leader on and off the court, Head Coach June Daugherty said.

Rosie Tarnowski, 22, is a senior education major and student teacher at Jefferson Elementary School. She is originally from Philadelphia Pa. Her season high is 14 points against UW and her career high is 16 points from Nov. 2008 when she played against Texas Tech.

“I really like kids,” Tarnowski said. “I’ve had really great teachers and I’ve had not so great teachers and so I just kind of want to be a little bit of stability for some kids who don’t have that at home.”

Tarnowski said she wants to be a person that a child will look forward to seeing everyday.

She came to Washington State University because she wanted to go somewhere different, she said.

“I’ve been able to see so much stuff that I wouldn’t have been able to if I was on the east coast,” Tarnowski said. “I just kind of fell in love with Pullman and the people and just the community feeling.”

When Tarnowski was a senior in high school she was recruited by the assistant coaches at WSU, she said.

“I didn’t get to go see her that year,” Daugherty said. ”I’d seen her earlier when she was younger … so I knew a little bit about her and obviously I trust my assistants quite extensively to go out and recruit.”

Daugherty said that she liked Tarnowski’s knowledge of the game, how hard she played and her poise.

“To me she was the total package for us,” she said. “I’m so proud of her from coming all the way from Philadelphia here and she’s had a great impact on this program.”

Tarnowski was the first female to receive the Philadelphia Player of the Year award, Daugherty said.

“I think every year she has gotten more and more skilled,” Daugherty said. “Rosie will do whatever the team needs.”

Tarnowski cares about what is best for the team, Daugherty said.

“It’s definitely been a growing process,” Tarnowski said. “It’s nice to see where (the team) started at so how far we’ve come now.”

Many of the players including herself came to WSU to build a program, Tarnowski said. It is nice that the players can finally reap the rewards of that, she said.

“She’s obviously undersized as a front line player but it doesn’t matter,” Daugherty said. “She plays with so much heart and so much determination that she overcomes not being 6’2 out there and she’ll outwork anyone in the country.”

Tarnowski said besides playing basketball, she enjoys watching movies, painting her nails and baking. She is not good at baking but she is learning, she said.

“I’m trying to teach myself how to cook this semester,” Tarnowski said. “So it’s a learning process (and) learning experience.”

Tarnowski said she get’s her recipes from the Internet and then tries to figure out everything from there. Her newest creation was maple-glazed chicken that did not turn out too well, she said.

“(I'm) hoping to kind of prolong getting into the real world for a little bit,” she said. “And see different parts of the country and whatnot before I decide where I’m settling down.”