First Posted: 1/26/2015
She has the drive. She has the determination. And she’s making every opportunity count.
Mia Hopkins, a 2013 Pittston Area graduate and the only Patriot girls basketball player to ever receive an NCAA Division 1 basketball scholarship, is currently a key factor in the Monmouth University women’s basketball team. And she still has two years left.
Hopkins, a sophomore guard for the Hawks, has taken every opportunity and turned it into an impressive start to her career.
Through the first half of the season, averaging 13 minutes of playing time, Hopkins is scoring just under 6 points and averaging 4 rebounds per game. Off the bench, she is just one of six Monmouth players to see the floor in every game this season. Of those six players, Hopkins is shooting a team-best 40 percent from the field.
While she doesn’t see the floor as much as some of her teammates, Hopkins is showing that she can play with the best of Division 1 players. Being a part of the team her freshman season made that happen.
“I worked pretty hard this summer and developed my three-point shot,” Hopkins said. “I’m not as nervous as I was last season. You just learn so much in one year of experience. You’re able to see so much more and understand things a lot more.”
When the calendar was ready to flip to 2015, Hopkins began to turn it on.
In 30 minutes of action against University of Maryland Eastern Shore on Dec. 30, Hopkins poured in a career-high 21 points. She was 9-of-13 from the field. In her next game, Hopkins rattled off another 14 points in a loss to Iona College. She made four threes. She filled in for an injured teammate and took advantage.
“I knew in my head I was going to get more time,” she said. “I basically prepared myself for that and that was one of my opportunities. I just went hard and kept playing.”
Monmouth head coach Jenny Palmeteer saw that drive and determination while scouting Hopkins while she was at Pittston Area. Hopkins has a nose for the basketball, on the offensive end and defensive end. She’s able to get up and down the floor quickly and create matchup problems for opposing teams.
“The first thing I remember watching her play was I loved her ability to really push the ball,” Palmeteer said. “She really got up and down the court and fnished. I loved her attitude and her spirit. She’s someone who really has a passion for what’s she’s doing.”
That passion started at a very young age.
Hopkins has been around the game as far back as she can remember. She has pictures of herself carrying a basketball around her home. She even remembers the first time she made a basket in her driveway. Over the course of the rest of the season, and through the next two years, Hopkins wants to use that passion to help her get to the next level of her college career.
“Remembering why I fell in love with the game of basketball,” she said. “When things aren’t going your way you have to fall back and remember why you’re playing. That’s definitely the key with my family being there for me through all the ups and downs. That’s the really why I’m here.”
Monmouth is sitting at 8-11 overall and 4-6 in the Middle Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). The Hawks, however, seem to be catching some momentum.
In their last game, which Hopkins wasn’t able to get into the score sheet in her 10 minutes of play, the Hawks held Fairfield University to 33 points. The 33 points were the fewest allowed by the Hawks in nearly five years.
Hopkins is a force on the defensive end, according to Palmateer. Her rebounding is a big reason why.
“Her rebounding is definitely one of her biggest strengths,” Palmateer said. “She has just a nose for the ball. She has a high motor. Half the battle is going and getting it. She’s always willing to do that. I give her credit.”
Hopkins contributes that to her aggressiveness.
“I feel like it’s an aggressive way of doing things,” she said. “I’ve always had a nose for the ball when a shot is going up. I go for it. I can’t explain it better than that. When I’m in that aggressive mode I get hungry for the ball.”
As a freshman for the Hawks, Hopkins saw considerable minutes in all 33 games off the bench. Last season, she averaged just shy of 5 points and 3 rebounds per game. She shot a team-best 35 percent from the three-point line and an impressive 45 percent from the field overall.
Hopkins scored a then-career high 15 points in a game against Siena College last March. Although her numbers seem to be very similiar to last year’s statistics, both Hopkins and Palmeteer see improvement.
“She’s improved so much from last year,” Palmateer said. “I have no doubt she will continue to keep climbing and learning. She has such a passion for the game. I don’t know if anyone on our team has that. I can’t wait to see what she’a able to do. The sky is the limit for her.”
Prior to selecting Monmouth to continue her hoops career, Hopkins turned in an impressive resume at Pittston Area. There, she became the first Division 1 scholarship player from the high school. She recorded over 1,500 points and grabbed more than 1,000 rebounds in her varsity career.
She was named a Pennsylvania Sportswriters All-State selection her junior and senior years, and was nominated as a McDonald’s All-American as a senior. Her junior year was most impressive. In 2012, she averaged 20 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks per game.
