By Joyce Erekson
Item Staff
A year ago Catherine Stinson was preparing for an incredible ride with the Lynn English High girls? basketball team that didn’t end until the Bulldogs lost to eventual state champion Braintree in the Division 1 state semifinals. Stinson had been a force since the day she walked through the doors of English?s Paul Cavanagh fieldhouse as a freshman.
Now she’s hoping to do the same at Southern New Hampshire University.Stinson is off to a good start. The starting point guard for the 3-6 Penmen, she is averaging 6.9 points per game. Although she quickly worked her way into the starting lineup, the jump from high school basketball to the college game has been a big one.
?It?s more competitive and defensively it’s a much faster pace,” Stinson said, adding that transitioning back to defense is probably the biggest challenge.
Basketball is only one part of the equation. Like any freshman away from home for the first time, Stinson also had to adjust to college life on SNHU?s Manchester, NH, campus.
?At first it was very difficult,” she said. “I was stressing out a lot. There was no one there to tell me to do this, or to do that, to get my homework done. But then I started motivating myself to get it all done and I started managing my time better.”
Stinson, a two-time Northeastern Conference MVP, ended her career at English with 1,277 points and more than 500 assists while playing for English coach Fred Hogan, who is also her uncle. That experience, she believes, prepared her well for college.
?Coach Hogan was hard on me through the four years at English,” she said. “I kind of knew what I was getting into. Every time (SNHU coach Karen Pinkos) gets on me I know where she’s coming from. She wants me to be a better player.”
But, Stinson has had to make all these life changes in the aftermath of the unexpected death of her father, Mike Stinson, just a few weeks after English?s final game last season, at TD Garden in Boston. Mike Stinson was a fixture with the English High program when his daughters — Catherine and her older sister Gabby– played. He was the scorekeeper and had the honor of recording Catherine’s 1,000th career point.
Stinson said when her father died last spring, Pinkos and the SNHU team were very supportive. Pinkos attended the wake, while the players sent cards.Pinkos is happy with the progress Stinson is making.?I think she’s doing great,” Pinkos said.Most freshmen, Pinkos said, go through a period of adjustment to the speed of the college game, the talent level and the strength of the players. The length of the season, which starts in September, is also a challenge.?She has that thin, lanky body,” Pinkos said. “We have to encourage her to eat more to put on some muscle.?I think she’s adjusting pretty well. She’s very poised for a freshman. I feel like she’s pretty confident for a freshman. She’s a hard worker and very coachable. She’s very knowledgeable as far as her basketball IQ goes.”Stinson does a good job distributing the ball and is an unselfish player, Pinkos said, with good three-point range.?I think she’s fitting in nicely,” she said, adding that Stinson has lots of untapped potential.?She’s certainly a player who has the skills to be successful. She’s doing a good job and I think by the end of the season she’ll be doing a great job.”
