Photo by Willem Ytsma ‘16

Trailing by one against Brown with seconds remaining, Lafayette needed a bucket

Enter Emily Homan.

The junior forward received a pass from point guard Jamie O’Hare ‘16 and laid it in to go ahead. But there was enough time for one more Brown possession. Lafayette needed a stop.

Enter Homan… again.

The former Patriot League Rookie of the Year blocked a shot with two seconds remaining to seal the road victory and propel Lafayette to a 2-0 start.

Homan is emerging into the Leopards’ go-to player this season and leads Lafayette with 21 points and 10 rebounds per game.

What exactly has led to this impressive start in her third season on College Hill?

“I don’t know if it’s any one thing,” Homan said. “I just do whatever I can to help the team win. You can’t really control what the score is going to be, but you can control how hard you work.”

Homan has accumulated quite the collection of awards – All-Rookie team selection, Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, four rookie of the week and now two Player of the Week honors.

When asked about individual goals, Homan instead prefers to discuss the team as a whole.

“I don’t know if I have one set individual goal,” Homan said. “My goal is to just do what I can do to help us win the game. If I’m not scoring one day, I want to be able to rebound so we can win. If I’m not getting the rebounds then I want to be scoring.”

“I don’t like talking about myself.”

Homan primarily plays down low but possesses a jump shot to be an effective inside-out player.

“I think as a post player I’m able to step out a little bit more and take mid-range jumpers which makes me a little more versatile,” Homan said.

That versatility will be key if Lafayette is to accomplish its goal for this season – a Patriot League title.

Homan echoed that goal when asked.

“Win it all man,” she replied. “We’re taking those steps to get to that Patriot League Championship.”

Homan will look to build on her strong start when Lafayette plays Columbia tonight at 8 p.m. in the Kirby Sports Center.