Plum grad Maria Lawhorne making most of shortened season at W&J
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In November, the Presidents’ Athletic Conference released a return-to-competition plan for the spring 2021 semester.
Plum graduate Maria Lawhorne, a senior on the women’s basketball team at Washington & Jefferson, was encouraged as she completed remote-learning classes for the fall semester.
“It was challenging and definitely not something I was used to,” she said. “There were a lot of at-home workouts to keep in shape, going outside and shooting on my hoop even if it was cold outside. I just wanted to get shots up wherever I could. It was challenging for the team to not be together.”
Lawhorne returned to campus in January and reunited with her teammates. When the PAC announced the schedules for a truncated conference-only regular season, business, Lawhorne said, picked up.
The excitement for Lawhorne and the rest of the Presidents hasn’t waned. The team stood at 5-0 through a 78-52 victory over Franciscan on Feb. 20, and Lawhorne, a starter at forward and team co-captain, has been a main contributor through it all.
“I was just really excited for this year,” said Lawhorne, who is second on the team in scoring at 13.8 points per game and tied for the team lead in rebounds (8.2).
“It’s my senior year, and I am just really thankful that I’ve gotten the opportunity to play it with my teammates. I’ve been trying to go out every game like it’s my last game. With everything that has gone on over the past year, you never know what might happen. The next game is not guaranteed. I want to take advantage of every opportunity to the best of my ability.”
Fellow senior forward Alie Seto, a Brownsville alum, leads the team in scoring at 16.8 points and also is averaging 8.2 rebounds.
Lawhorne posted her first double-double of the season against Franciscan with 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in 26 minutes. She was 7 of 11 from the free-throw line.
W&J outscored Franciscan, 50-16, in the paint and held a team rebounding edge of 54-26.
“I just go out every game and play my hardest and not take anything for granted, and that’s what happened (against Franciscan),” said Lawhorne, who also recorded a season-best 19 points in a win over Westminster on Feb. 13.
W&J was dominant over its first five games, outscoring its opponents — Bethany, Geneva, Westminster, Thiel and Franciscan — by an average of 28.8 points.
“We’ve just been coming together as a team starting with practices in January and continuing to go out there and play our best each game,” Lawhorne said.
Lawhorne averaged eight points and 6.4 rebounds a game last year as she took on a starting role for the first time. She finished second on the team in rebounding and posted four double-doubles.
She entered her senior year with 526 points and 362 rebounds in 75 career games (26 starts) at the collegiate level. W&J coach Jina DeRubbo said she has seen that senior spark in Lawhorne, which has allowed her to take her game to the next level.
“We have a core group of seniors who have just been fantastic, and they all complement each other so well in different ways,” DeRubbo said.
“Maria brings to the table a sense of calmness. She is steady where she doesn’t get too high or too low. She keeps her teammates calm on the floor while playing with a lot of confidence.”
“She is just very crafty around the basket and is very hard to guard. She can use her left hand very well, so it makes it a challenge for defenders. She has this spin move that helps her get good shots, and she can also score from the perimeter. She is rebounding so well and is our best post defender. She has just put together a complete game on both ends of the floor.”
W&J was to put its undefeated mark on the line Saturday at Waynesburg, and the Presidents were to host Grove City on Wednesday.
Both PAC matchups were to be contested past the deadline for this week’s edition.
W&J visits Chatham on Saturday before finishing up its regular season with a PAC home game March 10 against Saint Vincent.
The PAC tournament is set to begin March 13, with the title game slated for March 20. Every team in the conference will participate.
“We are grateful to have this season,” Lawhorne said. “Whether it was one game or 20 games, we were thankful that the conference went ahead and pushed through to give us games to play. We just want to make the best of it the rest of the way.”