This week’s student-athlete of the week is Caroline Peper, a member of the girls basketball team. She is a freshman and the first underclassmen this year to be selected for the Daily Olivian’s “Student-Athlete of the Week”. There is nobody that deserves this more than Caroline, who put up RIDICULOUS numbers all season long for the Tigers and was a huge reason for their successful season.
She played guard this year and is a constant scoring threat. Her amazing shooting put her at third best in the Hock for points per game. Yes, you read that right. Third in the Hock…as a freshman. Those 15.4 points a game certainly helped the girls reach a 12-8 record and a victory in the first round of playoffs.
Although they had a tough loss in the second round to Wellesley (the number 2 seed), the season should still be considered great for them. They had to deal with injuries to 2 key players Erin Holmberg and Tori Harney but overcame them and ended up with a winning record. Caroline said “I was very satisfied with the way the team played all year even after encountering unfortunate injuries. As a freshman and doing as well as I did I can not be unsatisfied with my play.”
Expect the Tigers to show up next year, led in part by Caroline who told me that “I expect to have a better record. We will be the next powerhouse in the Hock.” There seems to be no doubt in her mind that the team has the ability to bring back a championship next year but she also knows that she will have to step up even more, saying “my weakness is my defense, which I have tried to improve every game.” She clearly has the offense down, putting up 31 in one game, and hopefully the defense will come next year.
You will likely see the name “Caroline Peper” outside of the court as well. She plays on the varsity soccer team and told me she expects to run track in the spring. The future is insanely bright for her and there seems to be limitless possibilities these next 3 years. It is quite a while away, but I got the chance to ask her about college. She is keeping her options open, not ruling out any colleges yet but told me she wants to continue her basketball career in a division 1 or 2 school. But for now, she is staying at OA so just enjoy the show.