March 12, 2009

Season Review (More information available in this format)

BALTIMORE, MD - After a dismal 1-7 start to the 2008-09 season, the Johns Hopkins women's basketball team turned it around at the right time and finished with a trip to the Centennial Conference Tournament. Picked sixth in the Centennial Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, JHU was the only team in the conference tournament field that wasn't predicted in the top five of the preseason poll.

The Blue Jays, led by senior captains Kristin Phillips, Caitlin Sloane and Jenna Berninger, kicked off their season with the Mike Durgala Memorial Basketball Tournament on November 22 and 23. Hopkins defeated Sewanee on the first day of the tournament, 58-52, in its season-opener before falling to York in the championship the following day. Sophomore Lyndsay Burton had 19 points against Sewanee while Phillips tallied 20 against York.

At 1-1, JHU hosted Messiah two days later, hanging with the No. 11 Falcons until the end, dropping a close call, 57-45. Burton lead the Blue Jays with 15 points and Phillips grabbed 13 rebounds against the Falcons. After a brief Thanksgiving holiday, the Blue Jays hit the road for the McWilliams Classic, hosted by Washington University in St. Louis. In its last visit to St. Louis, Hopkins had upset WashU in 2003 in the same tournament. The Midwest wasn't as kind to the Blue Jays this time around as they suffered defeats to Carthage and Whittier. Junior Katie Biggart scored a career-high 10 points against Carthage.

Back in Baltimore, Hopkins embarked on its Centennial Conference schedule, clashing with league rival Franklin & Marshall. The Diplomats got past the Blue Jays in the final seconds with two free throws to steal a tight, 54-52 victory in Goldfarb Gymnasium. Four days later, JHU traveled to Swarthmore for its final game of 2008. The Blue Jays led at halftime but were not able to withstand a second-half run by the Garnet, surrendering in their second Centennial Conference game, 70-63.

JHU resumed its schedule in Lake Buena Vista, FL with two contests in the ECAC Basketball Tournament. The Blue Jays lost to a tough Gywnedd-Mercy squad on day one, 70-56. Capturing its first win since the season-opener, Hopkins handily defeated local-rival Goucher on day two, 71-55 to move to 2-7 on the season. That win over the Gophers would turn January into a come-back month for JHU.

Jumping into the depths of its Centennial Conference schedule, Hopkins hosted Ursinus on January 7, claiming its second win in a row and third of the season before winning an easy road game at Bryn Mawr later that week, 61-42.

Gettysburg was the next conference foe to visit Goldfarb Gymnasium. The Bullets weren't sharp enough to overcome a hot Hopkins team, which extended its win-streak to four with its 62-50 win over Gettysburg. Burton recorded 22 points in the win, the first of five straight games where she would tally 20 points or more.

The No. 23 Muhlenberg Mules would snap the Blue Jay's four-game streak two days later, handing JHU a 69-59 defeat. Burton had a career-high 26 points against the Mules and went on to receive Centennial Conference Player of the Week Honors for her efforts. Hopkins would pick up a win over Swarthmore the next week to split the series with the Garnet before entering a two-game road slump, dropping a game each to McDaniel and Dickinson.

JHU hosted the Washington College Shorewomen to complete the three-game week and survived a hard-fought game, 73-56 to move to 7-10 on the season. Hopkins added another victory on the road at Ursinus, where sophomore Siobhan Callanan scored a career-high 13 points and grabbed five rebounds. The Blue Jays went on to knock off Dickinson on February 3 in a close 72-67 contest. Hopkins had lost to the Red Devils just 10 days earlier on the road. Hopkins got its second chance at Franklin & Marshall that same week, this time on the Diplomats' home floor. Again, it came down the wire, but senior Kristin Phillips pulled the Blue Jays through with two clutch free throws with seven seconds remaining to cap a 27-point, career-high outing and lead the Blue Jays to the 66-64 victory.

Haverford would be the next Centennial opponent to be overcome by Hopkins, falling 52-44 to the Blue Jays on February 7. The next test for the Blue Jays would be a road game at Gettysburg. The Bullets, out looking to avenge their loss to JHU from January, weren't able to stop Hopkins. The Blue Jays defeated Gettysburg for the second time in the 2008-09 season, completed the season sweep and rising to 12-10 on the year. Burton came away with 20 points in the win at Gettysburg.

After winning six straight, the most impressive streak of the season, No. 17 Muhlenberg came to town. The Mules were once again too much, but they didn't escape with the win without enduring a tough second-half surge from the Blue Jays. Junior Anastasia Wynn registered a career-high 15 points in the loss.

Bryn Mawr was the final home contest and the last regular-season win for Hopkins. The Blue Jays gained their 13th victory of the season after defeating the Owls 67-31. Freshman Chantel Mattiola had a break-out performance against Bryn Mawr, hitting 4-of-4 from 3-point range and shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor for 14 points. The victory also marked head coach Nancy Funk's 400th career victory at Johns Hopkins. JHU would close the regular season with a trek across the Bay Bridge to battle Washington. The Shorewomen upset Hopkins for the first time in school history, 63-58.

Throughout the month of February, five Centennial Conference teams fought for four Centennial postseason spots, with each game carrying playoff significance. With its 11-7 Centennial record, JHU was one of five teams in a tie-breaker for second place in the standings. Hopkins earned the No. 3 seed in the tournament as a result. The Blue Jays had not participated in the Centennial Conference Tournament since 2006. For a third time, the Blue Jays were up against Franklin & Marshall, this time in Allentown. There, in Memorial Hall, the two teams battled for a trip to the Centennial Conference Championship. Hopkins did not falter against the Diplomats, defeating F&M for the second time in a month. Phillips and Burton each recorded double-doubles to lead the Blue Jays in a 75-58 breakdown of the Dips to advance to the final.

The next day, JHU faced a more daunting task, the challenge of a Muhlenberg team that had not been beaten in league play all year, going 18-0 in the regular season and easily knocking off McDaniel in the Centennial semifinals. The Blue Jays, down 10 at the half, weren't able to recover from the deficit at the break and surrendered to the Mules in the title game, 76-55.

A 14-13 finish seemed like a far cry from the 1-7 team that Hopkins started as. After working out the kinks in November and December, the Blue Jays recovered in the new year with a 13-7 record in 2009, salvaging the season.

In the week leading up to the Centennial Conference Tournament, Burton and Phillips each earned All-Centennial honors. Burton was named First Team All-Conference, while Phillips received an Honorable Mention nod.

Phillips finished her career at 17th in the all-time JHU record books for career points with 809. She was also fifth in career rebounding with 770 boards. Sloane was just six 3-pointers from breaking the JHU record. Her 344 3-point field goal attempts rank fourth all-time in school history and she has the second-best free throw percentage in the history of the program at .800.

With seven juniors, the Blue Jays will have plenty of leadership in 2009-10. Hopkins also saw promising things from each of its three freshman. As proved this season, one can never count out the Blue Jays.