W. Basketball beats Conference rival McDaniel

This past Thursday, the women’s basketball team topped their Centennial Conference foe, the McDaniel College Green Terror.

The Blue Jays picked up their 11th win behind junior center Rory Cole’s 15 points and 18 rebounds.

“I am really proud of how our team played. We showed great versatility on both sides of the court,” junior guard Marissa Varnado said.

Hopkins put out a strong defensive effort that allowed for them to notch a win against the Green Terror.

“Our guards are working well with the centers, and our defense was outstanding, which is something we have been working on this past week in practice,” Varnado said.

The Green Terror got off to a quick start, getting three quick layups and capitalizing on multiple Blue Jay turnovers.

However, sophomore guard Maggie Wodicka got the Blue Jays back on track with a late layup with under one minute remaining in the first quarter to put Hopkins within one.

Junior guard Sophia Way showed off her long-range ability, converting two of her eventual five three-pointers in the second quarter to help put the Blue Jays up six points before the half.

She shot an impressive 63 percent from beyond the arc.

Strong and unselfish play by Hopkins allowed them to go up by eight points in the third quarter with baskets from junior guards Lexie Scholtz and Madison McGrath, along with junior forward Maggie Spitzer.

From this point on, the Blue Jays did not look back, extending their lead by as much as 14 points.

“We always try to push the ball in transition, but it really felt like our guards were looking into Maggie [Spitzer] and me, and they made some really great entries to us down low,” Cole said. “Being able to pull down offensive boards gave us extra possessions.”

The Blue Jays won with a final score of 57-47. Along with the win, the Jays notched both team and individual accomplishments.

Way has now made a three-pointer in 11 straight games. Additionally, Cole contributed a double-double, with Way being the only player to outscore her with 18 points.

Cole was also named Centennial Conference Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 22.

In that span, she lead Hopkins to wins against Dickinson, McDaniel and Ursinus. 

Collectively, the Blue Jays have held their opponents to under 60 points for the third time this year. Hopkins is now 10-3 in Centennial Conference play. They have won at least 10 Centennial Conference games in a season for the 25th time in program history.

“Defensively, we have really been focusing on pressuring the ball and playing good one on one defense, and we really bought into that as a team,” Cole said.

Hopkins will once again go on the road for a big Centennial Conference matchup on Wednesday, Jan. 31.

They are set to face the second-ranked Gettysburg Bullets at 6 p.m.