As the month of January came to a close, the Lady Jays managed to continue their success and carry their momentum into February. With two wins in pivotal games against Centennial Conference opponents last week, the team managed to improve their record to 13-9 overall. To compliment the wins, head coach Nancy Funk reached a career milestone.
On Jan. 31, the team returned to Goldfarb Gym to start their final home stand against a very strong Gettysburg team. They started the game off on the right foot and compiled a comfortable 10-point lead going into halftime. Led again by senior center Alex Vasilla, Hopkins was able to hold on to their lead and end their opponents seven game winning streak. Vasilla shined in the big game by dropping 18 points and securing 12 rebounds along with five blocks.
This game brought the Lady Jays closer to the top of the standings and also gave them another reason to celebrate. Their head coach, Nancy Funk earned her 600th victory. With an overall career record of 600-309, she stands in the top-10 in wins in all of Division III women’s basketball coaches.
The team was elated to be able to be a part of their coach’s personal accomplishment, but knew that had to remain focused to take on the conference leading Swarthmore Garnet just a few days later.
On “Play for Kay Day” at Goldfarb Gym, Hopkins picked up right where they left off. In a game to raise money for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund the Lady Jays gave the crowd something to cheer for. With less than a minute left on the clock sophomore Stacy Fairey yanked down two big offensive rebounds, accompanied by a bucket and a made foul shot to cut Swarthmore’s lead to just one point. After missing a lay up, Swarthmore returned the ball to Hopkins and Fatu Conteh knocked down a game tying free throw to send the game into overtime.
Freshman guard Liz Tommasi helped seal the deal with four critical free throws giving Hopkins a 59-51 lead with eight seconds left in the game. The Garnets could not come back as the Lady Jays beat the Centennial Conference leaders and win their first overtime game of the season by a final score of 59-54.
With only two games left against Centennial Conference play, Hopkins is looking to continue their late success. “I think that as a team we are pretty excited about our two big wins this past week. They were definitely important games and put us in a good spot for the playoffs,” freshman guard Katie Clark, who has had an increasing impact on the team’s success in the last few weeks, said.
The Lady Jays hope to keep up the hard work for the last two games of the season against Ursinus and Franklin & Marshall so they can head into the Centennial Conference tournament on a roll. The game against host Ursinus, a team led by freshman forward Jessica Porada and freshman guard Alyssa Polimeni, is scheduled for Saturday at 1:00 pm.
With the confidence gained by beating the top two teams in the Conference, Hopkins is looking stronger and stronger as the season comes to an end. “We cannot let up the intensity coming into these last couple conference games,” said Clark.
Proud of their recent accomplishments, Hopkins is ready to work hard and finish their season on a high note. Doing so will help them improve their record and prepare for the upcoming Centennial Conference tournament.
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