Sitting in her gym clothes after the press conference, Brittany Hrynko stared directly at the ground as she listened to her coach talk about her game against Providence.

Women’s head coach Doug Bruno benched Hrynko for the final five minutes after she committed six turnovers. Hrynko finished the game with four points, nine assists and a season-high in turnovers.

“This should have been a nineand- two-game instead of a nineand- six,” Bruno said. “But that’s life, okay? That’s experience. She’ll fix that.”

The Blue Demons beat Providence by 20, but it didn’t matter. Bruno knew Hrynko could play better.

So did Hrynko. Midway through her college career, Hrynko and Bruno have spent countless hours working to improve her game. The junior has gone from a highly recruited prospect to being invited last summer to the World University Games team trials.

Asked about her connection with Bruno, Hrynko lifted her head slightly but kept her eyes away.

“He helped me a lot,” Hrynko said. “Everyday, I’m not going to say it’s easy.”

“What do you call me?” Bruno asked her, interjecting.

“My dad,” she answered as her voice started to choke.

“What do I call you?” he asked.

“My daughter,” Hrynko answered.

She stopped, now looking up as tears rolled down her face.

“We both have the same goal for Britt,” Bruno said. “That’s for this program to be great and for her to come out of this program at the highest level she can out of this program. That’s where we’re going here. That’s what I share with her.”

Together, Hrynko and Bruno have made considerable progress this season, and they won’t stop.

“I’ve coached players at the next level,” Bruno said. “I know what it takes for her to be at the next level. For Britt to do that, she’s going to have to be a point guard who leads a team and facilitate to get people into the game.”

This season, Hrynko has played at another level. Through 16 games, she is averaging a career-high six assists per game and a career-low 3.8 turnovers per game.

Hrynko ranks first in assists in the Big East and 28th in the nation. Hrynko worked on her vision as a passer, and as a result, she said, it’s becoming a lot more natural to her.

“I’ve always had vision, but now it’s just taking my time and not taking bad shots,” Hrynko said. “There’s a couple that I’ve taken that are bad shots. I just take my time and look for my teammates.”

Bruno said he hasn’t told Hrynko to be more of a “passfirst” guard, but rather to let the game naturally come to her. Bruno emphasized that great players often let the game play out and not force things.

He continued, saying that Hrynko has plenty of room to improve.

“Here we are through the midpoint, a little past the midpoint, of her collegiate career,” Bruno said. “She has another repertoire that hasn’t even come out yet. She’s got an awesome crossover, pull-up jumper. It’s awesome. I want her working on that more. At the next level, she’s going to have to run the team.”

Hrynko realizes she isn’t where she needs to be yet. Her assist to turnover ratio this season is 1.57, which is worse than her last season’s stellar 1.06.

“I was just frustrated,” Hrynko said. “Like he said, I see him as a dad. He just wants me to get better. He wants me to be a better person, a better player. He wants to help me get to the next level and I’m just being a coachable player.”

With so many expectations, Hrynko is using her desire to win as motivation. “I like to win,” Hrynko said. “I like to compete. I want to win. I want to help my teammates get better. I want to help the team.”