Athlete of the Week: Lily Glick

By Shannon Duff

Still, Glick, who had been accepted to Yale that November, kept her eye on another basketball team, far removed from the Lone Star State. She closely followed the Bulldogs right up to the end of their season. "They were a talented team," she said, "But they just didn't always capitalize on the strengths of the players."

Capitalize: that's exactly what Glick did last Saturday night when the Bulldogs faced Dartmouth in both teams' final contest of the year. With the game on the line, Glick connected on six consecutive free throws in the final two minutes to seal a victory for the Elis. The win put the women at 14-12 (6-8 Ivy) for the season, their best finish in four years.

Julia Tiernan/YH

Glick had hoped to bring her winning attitude to New Haven, and so far, she's been quite successful. She has filled her roles with the poise of a veteran and made critical plays for the young Elis.

Glick is quick to attribute her smooth adjustment to college play to her teammates. "I've played on many teams, and I've never seen such camaraderie," she remarked. "Everyone's personalities just sort of click and it adds so much to the team."

The transition wasn't a completely smooth one. Glick had to adjust to a quicker, more physical style of play, and she was often left frustrated in the season's early going. But after a well-deserved winter recess, head coach Cecelia DeMarco saw a different player arrive in January. "After she got back from Christmas, she seemed a lot more comfortable at Yale in general," DeMarco said. "She definitely had a heightened intensity level. It's been in the last month especially that she's gotten to the top of her game."

Glick is best known on the court for her intensity. "She is extremely aggressive on the court. She's also a very verbal player, though she communicates well and helps to raise everyone's intensity level," captain Ryan Hardaker, MC '98, commented.

DeMarco praised Glick's effect on opponents and on her teammates. "She is not only a hard-nosed competitor, but also has a way of taking something away from her opponents," she said. "Lily really puts it all on the line--it just comes naturally to her. Anytime you have a player that plays with such aggression, you see benefits that extend to the entire team."

So perhaps the season ended in appropriate fashion, with a glimpse into the future. As she did so often in Texas, and as she hopes to do more often here at Yale, she capitalized.

--Shannon Duff

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