"When it comes to shopping or outdoors, I'd go outdoors," says the 22-year-old New York Liberty point guard. "You can go shopping anytime. I've always loved being outside."

Don't expect this Rapid City, South Dakota, native to shy away from the bright lights and big city, however. She said her friends from Colorado State, where she played college basketball, get more of a culture shock visiting her home town than she had moving to New York.

"Whenever I go to South Dakota I jump on a three-wheeler and go," she said. "My friends get culture shock. Ever since I can remember we've had three-wheelers."

In fact, Hammon said she went 19 years without a wreck in her off-roading excursions at home until a group of college friends came to visit. Within hours they found themselves in a head-on collision in the forest behind her house.

"It was 100 percent avoidable," she said, recalling how she collided with a friend's three-wheeler and she and her passenger were thrown, hitting heads in mid-air. One of her friends even lost a tooth.

"We laugh about it now."

Her season playing with the Liberty last year and living briefly in New York hasn't changed her, Hammon said.

"To me, I haven't changed that much. I'm pretty much the same old me," she said. "I'm pretty adventurous. I like to be a little edgy."

She doesn't think her favorite hobbies - camping, fishing or off-roading with her Golden Retriever Trey and drumming when she gets the chance - are out of the ordinary. She simply has a need for an adrenaline rush, just like playing basketball.

"I'm an adrenaline junkie but I like to be safe," she said. "You have to push your limits. There's a fear factor. I think it makes you come out of your comfort zone."

Her next adventure?

"Skydiving," she said with a smile. "I think a lot of guys would be surprised because there aren't a lot of girls that are into that kind of stuff. I think it's important to be well-rounded."

Hammon said she made the transition from college to professional basketball without missing a step.

"All I can do is smile and do my best. It's going to be a learning experience for me," she said. "You don't get to the WNBA without having talent or without working really hard. But it's easy to be good at something you really love."

Hammon, who has played basketball for as long as she can remember, said her arrival in the WNBA was the combination of years of work and a true love for the sport.

"It's not a single (decision) because that doesn't happen overnight," she said. "It's a combination. I didn't get to pave the road. I just get to walk the road that was paved for me by the women of basketball."

Recently Hammon spent a weekend in the Colorado hills testing four-wheel drive vehicles for a national off-road vehicle magazine. The tough terrain challenged her driving skills but strengthened her resolve to own an off-road car or truck someday.

"It would be fun to get something like that for driving in the hills or just tooling around," she said. "I think it's a lot of fun."