Jays end great year at hands of Jumbos

The Hopkins women's
basketball team opened
play in the annual NCAA
Division III playoff tournament
on Friday, Mar. 2nd.
The Blue Jays travelled
to Medford, MA to take
on first round opponent,
University of New England.
In a game that came
down to the final seconds,
the Lady Jays held off the
Nor'easters and advanced
to the second round of the
tournament. Unfortunately,
Hopkins ran into a wall
the next night, as a heartfelt
second round game was
lost to Tufts University.
In the first round game,
Hopkins took an early
lead, jumping out to a 21-9
advantage over the University
of New England
early in the first quarter.
Throughout the first half
the Nor'easters clawed
back into the game, holding
off the Blue Jay scoring
attack and going on an 8-0
run of their own, making
the score 21-17 with
seven minutes remaining
in the first half. Senior
point guard Stephanie
Fong led her Lady Jays in
a game that would become
hard-nosed and physical.
Hopkins regained their
composure and ended the
scoring drought, adding
six more points before half
and heading into the locker
room with a 27-20 advantage.
Fong played 37 minutes
for the Blue Jays, quarterbacking
her team and
establishing her role as a
game manager, compiling
six points, five assists,
a block and one steal.
Fong's well-rounded game
was complemented by her
teammate, junior forward
Alex Vasilla, as she added a
tenth double-double to her
season, totaling 15 points
and 11 rebounds. Senior
guard Chantel Mattiola
was one of the most integral
pieces to the Hopkins
offense, as she played hard
for 38 minutes, scoring
10 points, and getting her
teammates involved with
seven assists.
The second half seemed
to be dominated by the
Blue Jays. Hopkins extended
its lead to 11 points
three different times in the
second half, controlling
the tempo and flow of the
game. New England slowly
began to chip away, scoring
eight consecutive points to narrow the lead to three
points, 45-42, with just over
five minutes to play in the
game. The final four minutes
would be a defensive
battle, as a one-point Hopkins
lead was extended
to four with a three-point
play from Vasilla with only
three minutes remaining.
The Nor'easters once again
cut the lead to one point,
and regained possession
with just 23 seconds on
the clock. A possession
was set up for New England
to take the last shot
of the game, and the ball
was taken to the basket for
a buzzer-beating attempt.
As the ball was released
by Nor'easter point guard
Kari Pelletier, the hand of
Vasilla swatted away the
final attempt, and Hopkins
regained possession with
two seconds. An intense
and hard fought battle advanced
the Blue Jays to the
second round of the NCAA
tournament.
The very next day the
Lady Jays went back to
work, this time facing off
with the Tufts University
Jumbos. Tufts set the tone
in the first half, opening
up a 29-19 lead at halftime.
The intensity was lacking
for the Blue Jays, and they
could not figure out how
to stop Tufts on the defensive
side of the court. Once
again Fong and Mattiola
led the way, scoring 14 and
13 points respectively. The
Jumbos shut down Vasilla,
a rare sight for the Blue Jay
faithful, as she totaled only
three points but added
nine rebounds.
As the second half
opened, a spark was seen
in the Blue Jays' attack.
Realizing the season was
on the line, Hopkins began
staging a comeback.
The half opened with a
12-4 run, as the score was
suddenly tied at 33 with 11
minutes on the clock. From
that point Tufts' lead began
to grow, and the season
started slipping away from
the Blue Jays' grasp. When
the final buzzer sounded
Tufts had extended its lead
to 9 points, eliminating
Hopkins from the tournament
and crushing the
hopes of a national championship
season. The Blue
Jays should not feel defeated
after an extremely
successful season, a 24-5
record and Centennial
Conference powerhouse,
the Hopkins Blue Jays look
to remain a national force
in the coming years.