Over the past week, the women’s basketball team defeated Swarthmore College and Muhlenberg College to improve its record to 20-3.
While many had strong performances on both the offensive and defensive ends, the team’s standout player, and our Athlete of the Week, is senior guard Lexie Scholtz.
The South Pasadena, Calif. native averaged 15 points, 9.5 rebounds, four assists and one block per game over these last two contests.
Not only did Scholtz earn her fifth double-double of the season against Muhlenberg, she also became the first player in school history with at least 900 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists over her career.
Scholtz sat down with The News-Letter to discuss her success as well as the team’s great season thus far.
The News-Letter: The team is currently riding a seven-game win streak. What have been the keys to its recent success?
Lexie Scholtz: One of our team’s biggest strengths is that we’re very versatile. On any given night, it could be any one of us who makes a big basket or comes up with a big defensive stop, and those impactful plays have been really spread amongst our team. For example, with Madison (Mcgrath) not playing in the last couple games, I think Maggie (Wodicka) has really stepped up and given us some quality minutes off the bench and hit some huge shots.
N-L: What has been your focus and mindset on the court that has led to your success as of late?
LS: Because our team is so skilled and everyone is so versatile, it’s really important for the success of our team to have an unselfish mindset.
Personally I’ve really been trying to take this to heart and focus on what our team needs from me on a game-to-game basis. It might be putting the ball in the basket one night, but the next it may be facilitating the offense and getting our shooters going, so I’ve really been trying to take it game by game.
N-L: How have your teammates pushed you to become a better player throughout your career at Hopkins?
LS: It’s been really cool being part of such a big class — there were eight of us coming in as freshmen, and six of us still currently play. Despite the size of our class, I’d say we’re still all pretty close and that cohesiveness has really shaped how we play on the court and how we’ve developed as players and people over the last four years.
They’ve really pushed me to become a better player by challenging me on the court and to become a better teammate. There have definitely been some low moments in my career, but the encouragement from all my teammates, not just those in the senior class, have really helped me pull out of those slumps. I don’t think I’ve acknowledged it enough, but I’ve really appreciated their support and have enjoyed playing with everyone over the last four years.
N-L: What have been the differences for the team this year compared to last year, when Hopkins finished with a solid 17-10 record?
LS: A big difference this year has been the leadership. Our team doesn’t have captains; instead we believe that anyone can be a leader depending on the time and situation. Coach (Katherine) Bixby introduced this concept to us last year, but this year I think we’ve really grown into that idea. Every player on this team has stepped up at different times and led in their own way, and that’s made a huge difference since last year.
N-L: What are your personal goals and the team’s goals for the rest of the season?
LS: Our team’s goal is to win the Centennial Conference tournament next weekend. We’ve worked really hard toward that goal all season, and it’s definitely attainable. I’d like to see us go on to win some games in the NCAA tournament as well so our senior class can end our careers on a high note.
The Jays will be back in Goldfarb Gymnasium at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16. They will take on the Ursinus College Bears in what will be their last home game of the regular season.
