As a fifth-grader new to basketball
in the frigid Midwestern metropolis of Chicago, the last place Amelia Hummel PZ
’16 would have imagined that she’d be in ten years was on a women’s college basketball
team in Southern California. Even more
difficult for her to believe would have been that she would emerge as a key
player and team leader.
Yet here Hummel is, consistently scoring double
figures and serving as captain of the Pomona-Pitzer women’s basketball team
(5-16, 4-8 SCIAC). Despite this year’s accomplishments on the court, Hummel
views her main role as that of a captain and mentor, keeping her young flock
unified and content.
While
many athletes these days start playing their respective sports as soon as they
can walk, Hummel took her time picking up the game of basketball. In fact, Hummel only started playing in the
fifth grade because her soccer friends had begun to play. She quickly developed a passion for the game and continued to play into high
school, honing her defensively-oriented game.
“In
the past I have been more focused on running the defense rather than scoring,”
Hummel said.
Although
this defensive mindset continued into her first year as a Sagehen, Hummel has since developed into a more multi-faceted player.
“Amelia has grown
from a primarily defensive player as a freshman to an all-round scorer in the
guard position,” head coach Kathy Connell wrote in an email to TSL. “She has become very hard for the average
guard to match up with and if they put a forward or post on her she is usually
quicker.”
Using her
height (six ft) and quickness to her advantage, Hummel is averaging 8.8 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game this year, highlighted in a 69-55 loss to University
of La Verne in which she scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 17
rebounds. While these stats have been crucial to the Hens’ five wins thus far
this season, Hummel’s true value comes as an experienced leader for her young
squad.
“Amelia brings experience and a calming
presence to this team and has developed into an exceptional captain. I give her
all the credit as she leads eight freshman and sophomores,” Connel wrote. “We
are very lucky to have her. Her
fellow Sagehens on the court, including Cassandra Palmer PO ‘18, who attended
the same high school in Chicago, echo similar praises.
“In
high school we played the same position, so at summer camps she would always
help me out and I really looked up to her and thought she was a great team
player,” Palmer said. “Now we’re on the same team again; it is nice to have her
there like an older sister to look up to and help us first-years.”
Based
on the praise from her teammates and coaches, Hummel seems to have accomplished
this goal, unifying her team into a strong group of competitors. You
can catch Hummel and her Hens in action Feb. 14 as they take on the California Institute of Technology (0-21, 0-12 SCIAC) at
2 p.m. at home.