While many of us were home relaxing over break, the Blue Jays women’s basketball team was dedicating hard work and time to stay sharp on the court. They had good reason for this as they went into the break with a 7-2 overall record and were undefeated against conference teams. Thanks to the team’s success before the break, players were motivated to stay in shape so they could continue their dominance with their return.
“We ended the first half of our season before winter break on a really strong note by beating Muhlenberg, which motivated us to continue to work hard in the following weeks when we weren’t playing games,” Junior guard Stacey Fairey said.
Their hard work paid off as the team picked up right where they left off. They won five of their first six games back, remained undefeated in the conference, and even handed Haverford their first loss of the season. When asked about the cause of their success the players don’t hesitate, aware that their teamwork is the key.
“I believe the main reason for our success is that we push each other everyday in practice and are selfless,” Senior guard Fatu Conteh said (who finished with 11 points and a game-high four steals). “We trust our coaches and believe in the system they have created. We play our best basketball when we play as a team.”
From this success the team gained a lot of confidence, but knew they would be up against a tough opposition when Muhlenberg and the conference’s top scorer Leanna Tallamy, visited this past Saturday.
From the start of the game the Muhlenberg Mules played solid defense, holding the Blue Jays to only 19 points in the first half while gaining a dominant 12-point lead. The Jays were the first on the board thanks to Fatu Conteh’s lay-up, but did not control the lead for the rest of the half after the Mules Colleen Caldwell sunk a 3-pointer just seconds later.
One of the biggest challenges for Hopkins in the first half was their shooting. The team was not able to make a 3-pointer and only shot 21.4% from the field, while Muhlenberg was able to sink five 3-pointers. After this offensive drought it would have been easy for the Jays to focus on their offense going into the second half, but they had learned that it was their defense that won them games.
“Our defense and ability to score off of the turnovers we created ultimately helped us come back in the second half,” Fairey said. “Our defense is always something we take pride in and focus on. We wouldn’t get as many opportunities on offense if it weren’t for making stops on defense, so it is definitely something we value.”
Hopkins took this to heart in the second half as they were able to make a quick comeback. In the first four minutes of the second half the Blue Jays went on a 12-0 run causing four turnovers and holding the Mules to only two shots. Sophomore guard Katie Clark sparked the offense with eight points in those four minutes and tied the game at 31 on a 3-pointer, just 3:31 into the half. She finished the game with a game-high 17 points while leading the team in scoring for the fifth straight game.
Muhlenberg quickly took back the lead though, but Hopkins stayed close behind. With 4:22 remaining Muhlenberg held a 44-46 lead, until Conteh stole the ball away and made a fast break layup that tied the game at 46. She was fouled on the play, and successfully made the go-ahead free throw putting the Jays up 47-46.
After Muhlenberg retook the lead the two teams stayed close for the remaining few minutes, and with just over a minute to play, Clark tied the game at 52 on a 3-pointer. Despite Clark’s 3-pointer and the Jays playing a tight defense, Muhlenberg was able to hold off Hopkins by successfully completing all six of their free throws in the remaining minutes to win the game 58-54.
It was a tough loss for the Blue Jays after giving it everything they had despite being down by 12 at the half. It was also their first loss to a conference team, and their first home loss since their opener back in November. The Blue Jays have a tough upcoming schedule now playing both McDaniel and Haverford on the road, but Fatu Conteh thinks that this loss should help the team get that extra push they need.
“Although losing that game was very disappointing for my team, I believe it taught us a great lesson,” Conteh said. “With a lot of our games, we haven’t been starting strong in the first five minutes. Luckily in the past we have been able to dig ourselves out of the hole, but against Muhlenberg it didn’t work. I think this loss will be that extra push we need to turn the corner and have better starts in games.”
If Hopkins can take out the positives from this game and play tight defense the way they did in the second half, then they should be able to get back in the win column.
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