| Katelyn Fischer has a 4.0 and
a 17.3 at Marymount this season. Marymount athletics photo |
It’s clear even after just a few minutes of talking with Katelyn Fischer of Marymount that she is refreshingly candid.
On Jan. 9, in a 58-43 home win against Mary Washington at Verizon Sports Arena, Fischer reached 1,000 points with a 3-pointer with 6:30 remaining in the first half, her second of the day. She went on to score 22 points. Was she counting down in her head the points to the milestone?
Yeah, a little bit.
The 1,000th point was memorable. Does she remember the first points she scored at Marymount?
No, I don’t have a clue.
What’s another highlight of her Marymount experience? Well, that came while she was on the bench.
“My sophomore year we beat Mary Washington on their home court at the buzzer. And that was just a really cool experience,” Fischer said. “We’ve always had a really huge rivalry with Mary Wash, and every time we play them, the atmosphere is so incredible.”
Fischer wasn’t playing sophomore year because after transferring from McDaniel, she had season-ending ankle surgery.
“She didn’t touch the floor,” said Ashlee Courter, Marymount’s head coach, an alum of the school who played under 500-game winner Bill Finney. But last year Fischer did touch the floor, and she barely left it. A year removed from surgery, Fischer averaged 39.1 minutes per game.
Fischer also averaged 17.7 points per game, ranked 7th in the nation with 5.7 assists per game, and was named the CAC Player of the Year, Virginia Sports Information Directors Player of the Year, and D3hoops.com Second Team All-Region.
This year, Fischer is averaging 17.3 points and 5.1 assists per game.
“She does it all. She can shoot. She has an unbelievable crossover. All eyes are on Katelyn, so she does a lot creating for her teammates,” Courter said.
But Fischer wasn’t always a scorer, not to this magnitude at least. “In high school I never was a scorer. My freshman year (at McDaniel) I averaged 10 points a game, and I realized, ‘wow, I can score.’ ”
Then last year, it really sank in.
In her first game for Marymount, Fischer scored 25 points. “After the game when I got the stat sheet, I didn’t even remember taking enough shots to get 25 points,” Fischer said.
The next game, she had 29 points. “Holy crap, I don’t remember scoring this many points,” she said again. “That was the moment I realized I could score.”
This is Courter’s third year coaching Fischer, but she noticed she was a special player and person, while she was playing for McDaniel in 2009. During that time Courter was the head coach at fellow Centennial Conference school Franklin and Marshall.
Courter recalls approaching Fischer on the court that year, and having a pregame conversation. “I was doing most of the talking. She is actually very quiet. But when she did open her mouth, she was very witty. She had me rolling. You just don’t expect it to come out of her mouth.”
It’s easy to tell, Courter enjoys talking about her star athlete. Courter speaks of Fischer’s ball handling skills, her surprising air time, her defensive tenacity and her leadership qualities.
She also tells of Fischer’s 4.0 GPA as she pursues her degree in accounting, of her volunteer efforts with campus ministry, her role as a resident advisor, and her organization of Marymount’s Operation Sock It To Me.
She does all that, while leading the basketball team. Isn’t that tough?
Not really. In college you’re not in class that much. As long as you have good time management you can take on different activities.
In her first year at Marymount, Fischer realized she wanted to be more active in the community. “We are such a small community, but we really are a tight-knit community. And if we could all help a little bit, we could do something really great,” she said.
The team collected socks, placed toiletry items like toothbrushes, toothpaste, and deodorant inside, and gave them to the homeless.
Fischer also organized a fundraiser during the annual tip-off tournament on Nov. 16-17. She was inspired by Keeley Imel, the sister of a friend of hers from high school, who battled brain cancer for five years before passing in April 2012. The tournament raised $400 for St. Jude’s Children’s Research hospital.
“She doesn’t just show up, she gets after things. It doesn’t matter if it’s on the basketball court, in the classroom, or in the community. She is a really special person,” Courter said. “She really has her priorities straight.”
Top 25
Women’s
No. 11 Montclair State is undefeated. The Red Hawks are 17-0 overall and 9-0 in the NJAC. They already have surpassed their conference win total from last year (8) and are closing in on passing their total number of wins last season (19.) They crushed Rowan 106-36 yesterday, and will be back in action on Saturday at Rutgers-Newark. Melissa Tobie leads the team averaging 13.4 points per game. No. 18 Catholic improved to 15-1 overall and 4-1 in the Landmark Conference with a 75-49 win over Susquehanna. Their lone loss came Jan. 12 at Moravian, when they lost by three. Jill Woerner leads the team averaging 17.6 points per game. No. 5 Messiah is 15-1 overall and undefeated in the Middle Atlantic Commonwealth Conference. They defeated Widener by a score of 67-59 yesterday to extend their win streak to 6. Dori Gyori leads the team with 17.2 points per game, and 8.8 rebounds per game. No. 17 Lebanon Valley improved to 14-2 overall and 8-1 in the Middle Atlantic Commonwealth Conference and extended their winning streak to 6 games with a 72-54 win over Hood. They return to the hardwood on Saturday against Alvernia. Tierney Hiltz, Kiely Chaklos, Caitlin Bach, and Renee Fritz each average double figures for the Dutchmen.
Men’s
No. 11 Catholic is 14-2 overall and 4-1 in the Landmark Conference after wins over conference rivals Moravian and Susquehanna. Sean Holmes scored 20 and Steve Limberiou scored 19 on Jan. 12 in a 85-59 win over Moravian. Limberiou and Chris Kerney each scored 19 as Catholic defeated Susquehanna 82-65 yesterday. No. 12 Ramapo defeated New Jersey City 60-54 yesterday to improve 15-2 overall and 9-1 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. Garrett Thiel scored 17 points in the win. No. 14 St. Mary’s (Md.) improved to 15-2 overall and 4-1 in the Capital Athletic Conference with a 58-54 win over Mary Washington. Three Seahawks were in double figures. Nick Laguerre scored 16, Brendan McFall scored 12, and Jeff Haus scored 10 coming off the bench and playing 35 minutes.
