Bay Path Junior Complete Leader

If there is any justice in the basketball world, Jesica Hunt ill be right in the hunt to be named the New England Collegiate Conference women's basketball Player of the Year.

And, not in spite of Bay Path College's 1-15 conference record and 3-22 overall mark, but because of them.

Hunt, a 5-foot-11 junior, has been a dominant player for the Wildcats this season, practically from wire to wire, and along the way has put up numbers that are positively other-worldly.

The Madison, Conn., native led the NECC in four of the five key individual statistics, averaging 18.8 points, 13 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 3.2 blocked shots per game. 

Her outstanding performances included 28 points and 18 rebounds in an 85-55 loss to Green Mountain, 20 points and 22 rebounds in a 76-49 loss to Southern Vermont, 23 points and 28 rebounds in a 71-49 loss to Southern Vermont, and 35 points and 21 rebounds in a 69-67 victory over Wheelock.

In the Wheelock game, Hunt added a game-winning halfcourt shot with 2.2 seconds left to play.

In the Wildcats' final game, Hunt, only the fifth player in Bay Path history to surpass the 1,000 career-point plateau, had her 15th double-double, scoring 19 points to eclipse the school career record scoring of 1,166.  She'll go into her senior year with 1,175.

For Hunt, it wasn't always this way on the court.

"I averaged maybe 5 points a game in high school, I was mostly a big body on the court," Hunt says.  " The Bay Path coach, when I was a senior, saw me play a couple of times and talked to me, and basketball was a part of my choice of Bay Path, but really only a minimal part.  I really went because the size, location and cost of the school."

When Hunt arrived, so did present head coach R.J. Toner, and the two clicked.

"Freshman year I broke out of my shell," she says.  "I think it was R.J.  He was an assistant coach at the time, and he was very good at getting into my head, motivating me and showing me how to utilize the ability I had."

It's never been researched, but Hunt may have one distinction all to herself . . . next year will be her fourth year as a Wildcats captain.  She's optimistic about her senior year for both her team, whichc has won seven games in her three seasons, and herself.

"This year we competed better on a day-to-day basis," she says.  "I think we're right there, but just maybe on player away.  We don't have a gym (Bay Path calls Holyoke Community College's Bartley Center home), and that's a real detriment.

"But I hope to finish strong.  I want to work on my outside shooting because other teams have been triple-teaming me down low," Hunt says.

"I'd like to end my career with the team competitive, and I'd like to go out with a bang."

Story courtesy of Mike Bogen and The Republican