ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Alex Vassila

A year removed from
one of Hopkins women's
basketball's best seasons
in recent memory, a campaign
that included 22
wins - the last of which
came in the first round of
the NCAA Tournament -
the Lady Jays entered their
2011-2012 schedule with
expected nerves. Not only
did Hopkins need to live
up to the hype they created
for themselves, but
they also had to replace
1,000-point scorer Lyndsay
Burton.
Burton, who led the Jays
in points and rebounds per
game and was an honorable
mention all-American
last winter, was an impact
power forward, a true
game-changer teams needed
to prepare for. So when
junior forward Alex Vassila
was awarded the task
of filling Burton's shoes at
forward this season, it was
a daunting task.
"To be honest, I know
that a lot of us thought
this year would be very
difficult, picking up without
great team leaders like
Lyndsay Burton," Vassila
said. "And going from that,
I think it is impossible to
replace such an outstanding
player and teammate
[as Burton]."
However, as the season Jays have learned how to
deal without a top-flight
scorer like in years past. Instead,
the Jays have relied
on several hands to pick
up the slack, most notably
Vassila and senior guard
Chantel Mattiola.
"I think last year with
Lyndsay on our team, we
all felt that if we ever got
stuck or needed a go-to
player to bring a spark into
the game, we could turn
to Lyndsay," Vassila said.
"Now, it can be any one on
our team on any given day.
Our starters all contribute,
as well as our players who
come off the bench. One
secret weapon, you could
say, that our team has
which makes us so hard to
beat is how deep we are on
the bench."
But as widespread as
the Hopkins offense has
been this season, the past
few games have been Vassila's
show. Beginning on
Jan. 16th against conference
rival Muhlenberg,
the six-foot-one Maryland
native has recorded four
double-doubles in her last
six games, reminscent of
Burton's former dominance.
Vassila posted her second
double-double of the
season on the 16th, a 10
point-10 rebound performance,
before scoring 11
with eight rebounds in just
18 minutes of
play against
Bryn Mawr
days later.
In her next
three games,
Vassila led the
Jays to key conference
victories
over Dickinson,
Franklin
and Marshall
and Muhlenberg
again
with three
more doubledoubles.
On
We d n e s d a y
night, she just
missed yet another
doubledouble
against
Ge t t y s bu r g ,
but Vassila
did manage to
move into second
place in
school history with 111 career
blocks.
Her second meeting
with the Mules was even
more impressive than the
first, as Vassila put up 16
points and a season-high
13 boards to lead the Blue
Jays to a convincing win,
67-43, and comfortable
first-place lead in the Centennial.
The girls, she said,
were playing with a chip
on their shoulder.
" G o -
ing into
t h a t
game all
of the
r e t u r n -
ers knew
that we
o w e d
them a
b e a t i n g
on our
c o u r t .
Last year,
we lost in
the conf
e r e n c e
f i n a l s
to them
and had
to watch
them celebrate and cut
down our net," Vassila recalled.
"From the tipoff, I
felt that our team was so
aggressive and fighting for
every loose ball, just playing
the best basketball that
our team could collectively
play."
For her individual performance
on the court,
Vassila was named the
Centennial Conference's
Player of the Week.
"It was actually really
shocking to me [to hear I
won the award]," the junior
said. "If someone had
told me to pick someone on
our team to give the honor
to, I would have picked
one of our amazing seniors
that I've been so lucky to
play with. So I guess it was
a really exciting surprise
that someone thought I deserved
this honor."
In the midst of a sixgame
win streak, however,
Vassila feels the team's
breakthrough into the nation's
top 25 rankings is a
greater accomplishment.
"I think I am more excited
about our team finally
getting the recognition it
deserves," she said.
Vassila's recent emergence
and Burton-esque
numbers are hardly surprises.
Last season, she
notched nearly nine points
and eight rebounds a game
in limited time, a sign of
things to come. She then
began this season with a
double-double, scratching
by York, 67-62.
"I wish I could say
there is something specific
that has spiked a change
in making
me
play the
way that I
have, but
I don't
think it
is something
I
p e r s o n -
ally have
done. I
think as
a team
we have
had some
g r e a t
c h emi s -
try on the
court, and
we have
just been playing with all
our hearts," she said.
"Besides all the team's
hard work that we have
been putting in throughout
the season, I have just been
trying to keep working on
things that I can control.
Putting extra time in the
gym to practice things as
simple as making my layups,
being consistent with
free throws and crashing
the glass."
Heading into the final
weeks of the regular season,
the Lady Jays stand at
18-2 overall and have their
sights set on the Centennial
Conference playoffs.
But with Vassila playing
like past Blue Jay greats,
the team hopes to compete
in the NCAA Tournament
come March.
"I expect our team to
finish off the regular season
strong, and I do believe
that we have a shot at winning
the conference title
this year," Vassila said. "I
think if we continue to play
the way we have been in
our last few games, we can
go very far into the postseason
- yes, farther than
last year."