The Blue Jays went into the Centennial Conference tournament with a 15-10 record and motivation to win the conference title.
In order to do so, they would have to get by Haverford College who stood in their way Wednesday night in the quarterfinals.
In a single elimination Centennial Conference tournament, the Blue Jays combined a team effort at Goldfarb Gymnasium to defeat the Fords.
Haverford, who was also 15-10 going into the contest, had as much as an eleven point lead with just over ten minutes remaining in the game.
However, a Hopkins rally was sparked by freshman Liz Tommasi, who snatched three consecutive steals and five points.
Tommasi’s efforts led the Blue Jays on a 10-0 run and cut their deficit to just one point.
Sophomore Jessica Brown assisted in gaining the lead with two three-pointers, and a total of eight straight points.
Brown’s season high of 10 points gave Hopkins a 54-50 lead.
After each team scored on their ensuing drives, Hopkins’s senior leader Alex Vassila grabbed a rebound followed by a layup on the other end. Vassila, with a strong 16 point and 14 rebound effort, gave the Blue Jays a five point lead with less than three minutes to play.
“Without the other girls, I could have never accomplished anything that I have to this day,” Vassila said.
The Fords replied to Vassila’s layup by cutting the lead to one point with 1:21 to play.
Sophomore Maggie Fruehan boosted the Hopkins lead to three points after a nice basket with 57 seconds to play.
The play of the game went to junior Fatu Conteh who remarkably blocked Haverford’s Jacquelyne Pizzuto’s shot, which was an attempt to tie the game with a three-pointer.
Vassila accredited Conteh after the game, saying,” I believe that the two soon-to-be seniors, Alyssa Fleming and Fatu Conteh, are going to step into leadership roles very easily next season. They already showed tremendous leadership as upperclassmen, especially Fatu with her on-the-court leadership and experience.”
The victory on Wednesday allowed the Blue Jays to advance to the semi-finals to face Gettysburg College. The teams already competed twice previously in the season, splitting the outcomes.
The Hopkins and Gettysburg matchup began on Friday evening in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
The Blue Jays got to an early six point lead in the first half.
However, after such a fast start to the game, it would be an uphill battle for the Blue Jays.
The Bullets answered five straight points to conclude the first half, cutting the Blue Jays lead to just one point, 18-17.
Sophomore Stacy Fairey began the second half with a three-pointer, with the intention to set the tone for the second half.
However, the Blue Jays were scoreless for seven consecutive minutes, falling behind the Bullets 32-23.
It was Vassila who lead the effort for a comeback, scoring two straight buckets and narrowing the Bullets’ lead to four points.
The lead fluctuated until three minutes to play when the Bullets took control of the game.
The Blue Jays tried to edge out a few more points to gain the lead, but the mighty task could not be reached as Gettysburg sank eleven free throws to ice a 56-43 victory. Friday marked the end to Hopkins season,.
This was not only an end to the season, but an end to a legendary career for Vassila.
“Honestly, my career at Hopkins has only been the product of amazing teamwork and chemistry,” Vassila said. “Without the other girls, I could never have accomplished anything that I have today.”
Vassila concluded her career as the only player in history to accumulate 1,000 points, 800 rebounds, and 200 blocks.
With her efforts in the history book, Vassila recognized, “Personally, I have no regrets. Obviously there were games that I did not play as well as I would have liked… but down to that last game, I would have done nothing differently.”
