Trinity’s Hannah Brickley balances volleyball, basketball and a biology major, succeeding in all three.  Trinity (Conn.) athletics photos

In her junior year at Trinity College, Hannah Brickley felt like she was missing out. She had this feeling before as a freshman and a sophomore, but this year she was going to do something about it.

Brickley, now a senior, had already established herself as one of the best volleyball players at Trinity, but felt compelled to do more. As a student worker for the athletic department, she found herself at quite a few basketball games, and had always considered returning to the other sport she played in high school. She was concerned about the additional workload a second sport would provide. But, as a junior she gave in and decided to try out.

She had barely even touched a basketball in two years, but played well enough to land a spot on the team as a forward. It was a challenge at first, she said, to make the adjustment from volleyball and to jump right in to playing college-level basketball for the first time.

“The hardest part basketball-wise was probably shooting and getting that touch back because it’s a lot different from volleyball,” Brickley said. “And getting in shape and being in a different type of shape for basketball, which is a lot more running and sprinting. In volleyball there’s not really any of that involved.”

Despite the challenging transition, coach Wendy Davis said she was amazed at how dedicated Brickley was to regaining her basketball form. In addition to consistently giving her all in practice she would ask for balls to use after practice ended to keep developing her shot. In addition to learning the college game later than her teammates, Brickley was also at a disadvantage because she had to join the team late in the season because the end of volleyball season overlapped the start of basketball.

But, the tireless work ethic and a naturally athletic build helped Brickley quickly become one of the Bantam’s top players last year, Davis said. And now in her second season on the team, Davis said she has established herself as the team’s go-to offensive option when it needs a basket.

“She’s not the tallest kid, but she’s just strong,” Davis said. “She’s just built really strong so even if kids are bigger than her, she can turn and make a move and they try to block it, but she manages to stay up in the air just a little bit longer than they do to put it in.”

This year, after leading the volleyball team to a 15­­-12 record as one of the team’s tri-captains, Brickley has been a rock for the basketball team. The 5-9 forward is one of two Bantam players averaging more than 12 points per game and leads the team in average minutes per game with 31.3.

Davis said consistency is something she has come to expect from Brickley, whether it’s on the court, with her teammates or with her schoolwork. As if starring on two teams wasn’t enough, Davis said she is constantly amazed at how well Brickley does with her academics. A biology major, Brickley has earned a GPA higher than 4.0 and donates much of her time working as a teacher’s assistant.

“She’s in the gym all the time but then obviously she’s in the classroom all the time too,” Davis said. “A 4.1 is unbelievable at Trinity and it’s not like she’s taking an easy major – she’s taking biology. She really is one of a kind and to top it off, she’s just an awesome kid. She has such a great personality. I just love the kid to death.”

When she first started playing basketball in addition to volleyball, Brickley said it was challenging to keep all of her obligations balanced, but she found being playing a sport in the fall and winter actually helped her in the classroom.

“I’ve definitely gotten better with that now that I’m in my senior year,” Brickley said. “I have heard people say this also, but being in season actually makes me have more of a schedule and do all my work on time rather than having more free time and procrastinating more.”

Davis said this is one of the reasons why Trinity’s athletic department actually encourages student athletes to take on two sports. Just on the women’s basketball team alone, Davis said in addition to Brickley she has two soccer players, a softball player and two more with plans to try out for lacrosse.

She said that while having basketball players take part in a fall sport can inhibit their time in the gym, at the Division III level, it should be left up to the students to decide how much activity they can handle.

“It’s Division III,” she said. “Let’s be realistic. It’s not Division I. We don’t own these kids like Division I schools do and if they have the athleticism and the time management skills to play two sports, in my opinion, more power to them.”

With three players, including Brickley, coming to basketball from a fall sport, Davis said it was no surprise that the Bantams suffered a bit of a slow start. But once all of the fall athletes got into the swing of things on the basketball court, the team improved by leaps and bounds.

As a member of the NESCAC, one of the nation’s top conferences, Trinity shares the court on multiple occasions each year with teams like Amherst, Williams, Tufts and Bowdoin, which frequently find themselves high up in the national rankings.

Brickley said the team’s 65­-49 win over Williams on Jan. 10 was one of the team’s best performances of the season and demonstrated just how well the squad had come together since the shaky beginning of the year. At the time, Williams was the No. 10 ranked team in the country and Trinity stood at 6–5.

Brickley led the team with 16 points against the Ephs and tallied 10 rebounds. The Bantams never trailed in the game, which was Williams’ first loss of the season. More recently, Trinity held its own against No. 12 Amherst. Davis said the Bantams stayed competitive with the Lord Jeffs throughout the duration of the game, except for a brief stretch at the end of the first half, when she had to sit Brickley and a few other key players. Trinity ended up falling 78–67, despite Brickley’s 22 points.

“We play as a team and we don’t really have any superstars at all,” Brickley said. “There’s not this one person that we look to when we want to score. We really work together and play as a team. I think that is unique in the NESCAC because a lot of teams have the one or two superstars whereas we’re all working together and you never know who’s going to have a big night.”

Brickley said that she will be sad to graduate at the end of the year and the rest of her family will likely share the feeling. There is always a strong contingent of Brickley family members at Hannah’s games and a deep connection to the Trinity tradition. Her father played ice hockey for the Bantams and her mother played field hockey, basketball and rowed. Brickley also has a brother who played football at Trinity for a few years. Not to be outdone, her uncle is Andy Brickley, the former NHL player and current television commentator for the Boston Bruins.

“They’ll be devastated when I graduate too,” she said. “They won’t have any games to go to.”

Still climbing

After the first week of the season, the WPI men’s team sat at 3-1 with the No. 15 rank in the country. Since then, the Engineers have only gone up in the rankings and are now a season best No. 3.

WPI’s only loss came back on Nov. 23 at Castleton State and it has since put together a 15-game winning streak and an undefeated conference record in the NEWMAC. The Engineers, however, almost let one slip away Saturday, Feb. 1, against conference rival Springfield, but sophomore guard Aaron Davis sunk a layup in the final minute to give WPI a 71-70 win.

The Engineers were down by five with 3:36 remaining in the game. Junior guard Sam Longwell then converted a successful three-point play, followed by a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Zach Karalis.

Junior forward Domenick Mastascusa led the team with 19 points and Longwell contributed with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The Engineers will face a tough test this weekend when they travel to conference rival Babson on Saturday, Feb. 8. The Beavers are 14-5 overall and 5­-3 in the conference. The two teams played a tight one in Worcester on Janu. 15, which WPI won 66–62.

New York, New York

Though Brockport has been the dominant force in the SUNYAC men’s race, things are tightening up as Plattsburgh and Geneseo both look to make a postseason push.

Geneseo was the latest squad to push No. 15 Brockport to the brink, but ended up losing in overtime in the Feb. 1 match up. The Knights actually held a 45–34 lead about halfway through the second half, but it eventually slipped away as Brockport came storming back and held off Geneseo in overtime. Junior forward Gordon Lyons led the Knights with 22 points and 14 rebounds and Brockport senior forward Matt Lee led his squad with 19 points.

Plattsburgh, meanwhile, is riding a seven-game winning streak, and is second in the conference behind Brockport. The Cardinals, 15­-3 overall and 9-2 in the SUNYAC, have demonstrated a knack for ball distribution with five players averaging double-digit points per game. Junior guard Shamoy McIntosh leads the team with just under 15 points per game.

Plattsburgh and Brockport square off Friday, Feb. 7 in Brockport, in what will be a pivotal conference matchup.

A storm brewing in Maine

The University of New England women’s team has flown under the radar a bit this season, but has pieced together an impressive 17-2 record and sits atop the Commonwealth Coast Conference.

Though the Nor’easters have yet to crack the Top 25, they certainly have turned some heads, having received eight votes in the most recent poll. Junior forward Kelly Coleman has been a steady presence for the Biddeford, Maine, squad, leading the team with an average of 17 points per game, which also puts her second in the conference.

The Nor’easters have also received some stellar defensive play from sophomore guard Lauren Hayden. The 5-9 Virginia native leads all of Division III with an average of 4.74 steals per game. Hayden has registered 90 total steals this season, including a season high 10 on January 11 against Nichols.

University of New England will take on conference foe Salve Regina at home on Saturday, Feb. 8.

Empire 8 roundup

It has been some time since we’ve taken a look at the Empire 8 men’s race, currently led by Stevens Institute of Technology, with Hartwick just behind. Both teams are 8­-2 in the conference, but Stevens has the overall record edge with a 14-5 record to Hartwick’s 13-7.

The Ducks are riding a six-game winning streak and are led by sophomore guard Evan Klimchak, who is averaging 14.3 points per game. Hartwick meanwhile, had a recent slip-up against conference opponent Nazareth on Jan. 31, but bounced back to beat Empire 8 rival St. John Fisher the next day, 77–65. Senior forward Jared Suderley leads the Hawks with 20.5 points per game.

Hartwick defeated Stevens 74-68 back on Jan. 14 and the two teams will not meet again until Tuesday, Feb. 18 in Oneonta.

On the women’s side, Hartwick remains on top of the conference, but Ithaca is making a charge, with its current seven-game winning streak. The Bombers’ most recent victory came in a 62-48 win over Elmira on Jan. 28, which saw junior forward Geena Brady explode for a game-high 18 points in just seven minutes of play.

Since falling to the Bombers, 70-59, on Jan. 25, the Hawks have bounced back with two straight wins against conference opponents. Hartwick routed Nazareth, 68-35 on January 31 and handily defeated St. John Fisher, 73–51 on Feb. 1.

Ithaca and Hartwick will not see each other for the remainder of the regular season, so whoever finishes on top of the conference will have to do so by playing hard against the rest of the Empire 8.

Contact me

It’s hard to believe, but the regular season winds down in just a few weeks. With conference rivals battling it out down the stretch, there will be plenty to report in the coming columns. Please send any potential story ideas from the East and Northeast regions my way at cory.francer@d3sports.com. Thanks and enjoy this weekend’s action.