AUGUSTA — No one welcomed the Thanksgiving holiday break more than University of Maine at Augusta junior Jamie Plummer.
The Richmond native’s legs were feeling the effects of a whirlwind schedule that is already 11 games old. But among the things she has to be thankful for this week is that her legs and 6-foot-1 frame aren’t even more fatigued by the burden of having to carry the Moose where they want to go.
“I don’t have that pressure that I have to score 25 points in order for us to win,” she said. “We have seven people that can score, that can rebound, that can do everything that we need to do.”
Exhibit A came in Tuesday’s 74-50 win over Southern Maine Community College. Plummer, who leads the Moose with 15.1 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, tied for fifth on the team with seven points in 35 minutes — which is right around her average on the seven-member squad.
“Everyone contributes in different ways,” UMA coach Jennifer Laney said. “Jamie had seven points (Tuesday) night and it’s OK. We still have a great win against a very talented team, against a very tough coaching stuff, and anybody from the team can step up and have a big night from us in many different ways. That’s the difference-maker for this year.”
Plummer is all too happy to help facilitate that and show her own versatility.
“This team has such a high basketball IQ and a lot of experience in high-pressure games and basketball in general, so we know what we need to do,” said Plummer, who still dominated the boards against SMCC with 17 rebounds, to go with two steals, two assists and a block. “I think that’s been really helpful.”
Fellow co-captain Carmen Bragg, senior Darby Toth and freshman Caitlin LaFountain share the scoring load. LaFountain and sophomore Morgan Card help with rebounding. But Plummer is still the catalyst for the Moose and one of the top players in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association.
As a freshman, she led the Moose to their first USCAA national tournament appearance ever. Last year — as the only returning player from that squad — she led the Yankee Small College Conference in scoring (20.7 ppg, fifth in the nation) and rebounding (11.4 rpg) while becoming the fifth player in the program’s history to reach the 1,000-career point plateau. She was named a USCAA All-American honorable mention.
Knowing that opponents would start to take notice of those numbers and accolades — and determined to get the Moose back to the national tournament this year — Plummer rededicated herself to improving her shooting touch and preparing herself for the rigors of the season over the summer.
“I think this summer was the hardest that I’ve ever worked,” she said. “With everything that happened last year, I just knew that it was going to make it even harder this year to be successful.”
Laney, who runs the fitness center at UMA, saw a lot of that work firsthand.
“A lot of days during the summer I’d pull into the parking lot and Jamie’s car would be there,” she said. “She would be in there all alone lifting, doing cardio and doing the things that she needed to do. I think it says a lot about her as a person. She’s not looking for gratification. She’s not looking for anybody to see her doing that. She’s in there on her own doing all of those things, only to be rewarded through the team.”
She and her teammates have had to work for those rewards. Teams have thrown virtually every defense at the Moose — sometimes in the same game — to try to contain Plummer.
It’s rarely worked. She was named the USCAA Division II Player of the Week on Nov. 18 and UMA is off to an 8-3 start, 3-0 in the conference.
“I think it says a lot about the versatility of the members on our team and being able to react to anything anyone throws at us,” Laney said.
Plummer and the Moose’s ultimate goal is to win a national championship, a goal she never even considered when she transferred to UMA from Bates early in her freshman year.
It’s just one of a multitude of possibilities she said have opened up to her at the school.
A biology major, Plummer will be making a service trip to Haiti next spring with a small contingent of UMA students who will be working with malnourished children.
“It’s going to be life-changing, I’m sure,” she said.
First, though, she could use a little rest.
Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638
rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com
Twitter: @RAWmaterial33
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