The Hopkins women’s basketball team kicked off their season last Saturday at home as they hosted the Mike Durgala basketball tournament.
The opening campaign of the Lady Jays was against the Whittier College Poets. The game remained close throughout, twice coming within three points, yet Hopkins took a commanding eight-point lead at half time. The Lady Jays were able to maintain their position and finish with a 61-55 win.
The three Hopkins guards, junior Katie Clark, junior Liz Tommasi and senior Alyssa Fleming, led the Hopkins offense by combining for 36 points. On defense, Hopkins forwards senior Ciara McCullagh and classmate Haley Bush went for 16 rebounds together on the day.
Hopkins was able to force 21 turnovers in the contest to help with the opening day win, which advanced them to the championship of the tournament against the University of Puget Sound.
On the following day, the Lady Jays fell in a rough 83-54 game. The tournament loss began with a 13-0 Puget Sound lead, which they never relinquished.
Hopkins shot a measly 19 percent in the first half and lost the rebound competition 28-14, leading to a 47-24 Puget Sound lead at half.
The Lady Jays improved in the second half, upping their shooting percentage to 37 percent; however, their opponent proved to be too strong.
The University of Puget Sound was led by Katy Ainslie, a senior forward who finished the game with 20 points and nine rebounds. She went home with the Durgala tournament MVP trophy. Alexis Noren, a sophomore guard, had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while adding an additional eight assists. Ainslie and Noren were joined by teammate Amanda Forshay on the All-Tournament team.
The bright spot for the Lady Jays came from Bush, who had 13 points and nine rebounds in the loss. Her weekend’s performance landed Bush on the All-Tournament team.
Yet the Lady Jays weren’t satisfied with their final weekend performance.
“We didn’t run our stuff. We need to execute better, be more relaxed, look for the extra pass and settle into our offense,” Tommasi said.
Hopkins will head back into action on Saturday to face conference opponent Ursinus. As the Lady Jays look to rebound from this past weekend, they must quickly regain their confidence.
Even though the young season has seen highs and lows, the team remains very optimistic.
“I think that this year has the potential to be one of our best seasons. We have girls who are all capable of scoring and contributing. We have a strong bench and great chemistry. We all just want to win, and that drive... can take us really far” Tommasi said.
The team is heading into Conference play as the favorites to bring home the title this year.
