Williamson proves she is a USM star

How you react, when what you expect to happen doesn’t quite work out, is one indicator of the measure of a person.

Jen Williamson of Hampden was forced to “measure up” as the saying goes, after graduating from Hampden Academy in 1989 and taking her academic and athletic skills to the University of Southern Maine.

She left Hampden as a star member of the basketball team and, as could be expected, felt she would retain that status playing for a Division III program. But that is not what happened to Jen Williamson.

She did not become a star in the common definition of the term. Instead, she became a role player.

But, Thursday was a day for Williamson to shine – to receive the acknowledgement that filling a role can make you a star.

During USM’s annual Recognition Day ceremonies on the Gorham campus, USM President Richard Pattenaud honored Williamson as the 23rd recipient of the Dorothea Vlahakos Memorial Award.

The award, given in memory of the former physical education instructor, goes to a sophomore, junior or senior woman who has demonstrated unusual leadership potential, good character and scholastic achievement.

Williamson earned the honor for her contributions as a four-year member of Coach Gary Fifield’s basketball team, and for her accomplishments in the classroom.

A senior majoring in criminology, she has maintained a 3.54 grade-point average and earned the William B. Wise Scholar-Athlete honor three times. In February, she was named Little East Conference Scholar-Athlete for women’s basketball.

Williamson, a 5-foot-9 forward, admitted the adjustment from high school to college, on the court, was difficult.

“It is very hard to go from star status,” she said of being a reserve. “It is a big mental transition.

“In Division III, if you are good, you naturally think you will get to play. But we have always had a really good team, and we have had a couple of key transfers. Unfortunately, they came in at my position. But that did give me the opportunity to play small forward as well as big forward.”

USM has made the NCAA Div. III tournament eight straight years, four with Williamson.

“It was kind of disappointing we only made the Final Eight this year,” she said, “but, overall, it was a very good experience. We got to travel. We went to Ohio my freshman year, to Florida, and to California. So it has been fun.”

When it became evident she would continue to be a reserve and not a starter, did Williamson consider quitting? She thought about it.

“After last season, I almost didn’t come back,” she said.”But I knew I would miss it a lot. I made a lot of friends on the team, and I knew I would miss them and the activity.”

And, she said, she understood why she was in the reserve role.

“My biggest weakness was defense, and that gets pointed out in college. It did make me dig down deep to play hard when I was in.”

In four years, Williamson competed in 114 games, seeing action nearly every game. Averaging 11.3 minutes per contest, she scored 520 career points. Williamson shot 41 percent from the floor and 64 percent from the line, and finished with 89 career assists, 65 steals and 74 blocked shots.

Asked if she felt high school stars should follow in her footsteps, even though their expectations and eventual roles might resemble hers, she unhesitatingly said yes.

“I’m glad I played, and glad I stuck with it,” she said. “It was a good experience.”