This change for the better
Babson’s Ouimette takes to new school
The end of her sophomore year at Connecticut College was quickly approaching last spring, and Payton Ouimette was going through what a lot of college students experience.
Ouimette, a standout on the basketball team, wasn’t sure what she wanted to do career-wise, and she hit a crossroads.
“I started really being clueless about what I wanted to do with my future,” Ouimette bluntly said.
A sense of urgency overcame her, and she began to pursue what interested her. She had taken liberal arts classes at Connecticut College that touched on a variety of subjects, and she realized that she wanted to study business.
Growing up in Medfield, Ouimette knew Babson had one of the best business schools in the country, and so she began thinking about moving back home to pursue it. She reached out to a couple of friends she had at Babson — Jen Narlee and Kat Tamulionis, both on the basketball team — and before she knew it, she was applying to transfer.
A complicated process followed, but Ouimette was accepted in May, and once she received assurance that she’d be able to continue her basketball career at Babson, she was all in.
“Once it started to work out, I couldn’t say no to Babson,” Ouimette said. “The business school is just too amazing and that’s what I want to do with my future.”
The decision has worked out not only for Ouimette’s future, but also her new basketball team. The junior forward has been a critical addition for the Beavers, who lost three of their top four scorers from last season’s Sweet 16 team.
Ouimette has made an immediate impact. She ranks second in the NEWMAC in scoring (14.3 points per game), first in rebounding (12.7) and she’s one of just seven players in the country with 13 doubledoubles. With a big lift from Ouimette, Babson (12-6, 8-2) has taken hold of first place in the league.
“For her to step in and produce right away was impressive because you always have to get used to the school and not only the basketball team,” coach Judy Blinstrub said. “And we’re really young, we only have one senior, so I think she really kind of took over right away, which was a blessing for our program because we needed somebody to step up in that role and she’s really done a good job at it.”
Blinstrub said she recruited Ouimette in high school, and that when it became clear she wasn’t coming to Babson, she stopped. But the coach said “if anything ever changes, we’d always be interested.”
It did, and she and her program are reaping the benefits. Ouimette has not only been impactful on the court, Blinstrub said, but she’s also quickly developed into a team leader.
“She’s just a worker and you can’t teach that, it’s just a mindset,” Blinstrub said. “So her way of doing that every day in practice and then in the games has carried over to the younger kids, and when they see a role model like that, it makes them start working like that. We were lucky. We’re glad to have her and she’s a great fit for our program.”
Huskies’ high perch
The Northeastern men were picked sixth in the Colonial Athletic Association preseason poll, but after a 76-64 win Saturday over Delaware, they are in a tie for first almost halfway through conference play.
At 6-2 in the league, Northeastern is tied with William & Mary, which the Huskies beat by 20 on the road last week. It’s a good spot to be in, but coach Bill Coen knows there’s a lot of season to play.
“We realize it’s a long year,” Coen said. “There’s ebbs and flows to the conference year. You gotta stay healthy, you gotta be good, you gotta get a little lucky, so we’re just looking to improve every day and go out and prepare for our next opponent which is Hofstra (Thursday) and get ready to play another tough game.”
BU’s Hankerson hurt
Boston University forward Cedric Hankerson is day to day with a hamstring injury after leaving early in the Terriers’ 75-68 win over Navy on Saturday. BU (109, 6-2) is one game back of first-place Bucknell in the Patriot League standings. The Terriers host the Bison on Sunday . . . .
With Harvard’s win Saturday against Dartmouth, Tommy Amaker became the fifth coach in Ivy League history to record 200 wins at one school.