LYNN — A pair of former teammates squared off for the final time in their collegiate careers last Saturday when Diondra Woumn of Franklin Pierce and Catherine Stinson of Southern New Hampshire met up in a Division II Northeast 10 conference game.
The two seniors, from English, were key pieces to their alma mater’s success under former Bulldogs coach Fred Hogan. While wearing the maroon and white Bulldogs uniform, the two helped lead English to three Northeastern Conference titles and a state tournament run to the Division 1 North sectional.
But over the weekend, Stinson and the Penmen grabbed a 71-61 win over the Ravens on SNHU’s senior day.
“These two are special players,” said Hogan, who attended Saturday’s game. “Catherine’s my niece and I watched Diondra grow up since she was a little girl. They’re two girls from Lynn who earned basketball scholarships and didn’t have to pay a penny. That was Catherine’s senior day down at Southern New Hampshire and it’s the last time they’ll play against each other. It’s special for the both of them.”
Hogan remembers Woumn and Stinson as high-caliber players who never wavered from carrying the team in big moments. Their respective legacies live on at English as both are members of the school’s 1,000-point club.
“We had an unbelievable team and Catherine was one of the best players in the area,” Hogan said. “She was our point guard and our leading scorer. She was our main defender but could also score the ball. Both scored 1,000 points in high school. They won three NEC titles in a row (2012-2014), three city championships, a D1 North sectional. It’s what you dream of as a coach for them to accomplish it on the court and in academics.”
Woumn and the Ravens closed their season Tuesday night. A forward, Woumn averaged 4.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game this season while shooting 50 percent from the 3-point line.
Although Saturday’s game was her last playing against her former teammate, Woumn believes that having two Bulldog graduates succeeding at the Division II level speaks highly for the English program.
“It was a regular conference game but me and Cat have been playing together for our whole lives,” Woumn said. “I was happy that I got to play against her on her senior night.
“It says a lot about the program at English. Me and Cat both compete in the best Division II conference in the nation. English molded us into the players we were. Without English as a program, I wouldn’t be the player that I am.”
Woumn, a communications major, plans to continue her education at the graduate level. Through her four years at Franklin Pierce, Woumn has grown as both a student and an athlete.
“I’m graduating in May and I plan to go back to school and get my master’s in communications,” Woumn said. “Franklin Pierce has been a long adventure. I learned to become a better player. I’ve been challenged and pushed. I’m a dean’s list student and I’m in the honors society. It’s been a pretty good four years for me.”
Stinson and the Penmen qualified for the Northeast 10 Tournament. SNHU, 16-11, hosts Saint Rose in a first round clash Friday night (7).
“Our team’s pretty dynamic from the outside and the inside,” Stinson said. “We have athletic forwards and centers that can take it to the hoop and shoot the 3. We don’t have just one player that can score, we have multiple players that can score and that’s working well for us.”
Stinson has been SNHU’s starting point guard all four years. This season she has averaged 8.6 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 32.9 percent from the floor.
“These past four years have been a rollercoaster,” Stinson, a criminal justice major, said. “We weren’t that good my freshman year. Sophomore year we started 8-0 but we missed the playoffs. Junior year wasn’t our best season. Now that it’s senior year, I think we have something special with the girls on the team now.”
Like Woumn, Stinson cherished the opportunity to clash against a former teammate twice a year through her four seasons.
“It was a bittersweet moment that we got to play each other for the last time as seniors, thinking about the fact that we won’t play against each other again. Last year, we had a chance to go the playoffs and they ruined it for us. We’ve marked it on our calendar to try and beat them to secure a spot in the conference tournament this year.
“I think it says a lot that we wanted to continue to play in college and gain more experience as players,” Stinson added. “It says a lot that we wanted to go to college and get our degrees.”