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S T U D E N T AT H L E T E
Down by nine points in an early December game against Messiah College, the Lycoming women’s
basketball team needed a spark from Nicole Calella, according to ESPN Williamsport’s color analyst
Robyn Hannan ’89. Almost on cue, Calella knocked the ball loose, ran the length of the court and
banked in a layup.
The Messiah lead disappeared soon after, and Calella sealed a 50-46 win when she hit three free
throws in the final three seconds to help the Warriors to their first win over the Falcons since 1995,
when Calella was just five months old.
“Beating Messiah was one of those great moments that I’ll never forget,”
Calella said. “We were ready and hungry and it showed us the potential that
we can have.”
Fulfilling on her potential hasn’t been a problem for the 5-5 junior point
guard. Given the keys to the Lycoming offense from her
first day on campus, Calella has led the team
to back-to-back winning seasons for the first
time since 1998, while developing into an
all-conference player. As a sophomore, she
averaged 7.7 points, but was effective in the
stat categories that head coaches love to
see in point guards, sitting second in the MAC
Commonwealth with 4.0 assists per game and
hitting 82 percent of her free throws.
Off the court, Calella is just as driven, with
her goal to become an FBI agent. The Lycoming
scholar points to the caring nature of Professors
Kerry Richmond and Susan Ross as helping her gain
experiences beyond the classroom like taking field
trips to the Lycoming County Pre-Release Center
and the Lycoming County prison. With the help of
sociology Professor Betty McCall, Calella was able
to interview an FBI field agent in Williamsport for a
paper.
“The criminal justice and sociology departments
are constantly trying to find ways to boost your resume,”
Calella said.
Calella also said that Dr. Richmond will help her locate an
internship for the fall, but until then, she has found many ways
to keep busy, including completing the Student Leadership
Challenge to become a Student Leadership Ambassador and
serving on the Campus Activities Board.
“Lycoming’s small community is great because you can
get plenty of hands-on experience with a variety of campus
programs,” she added.
Nicole
Calella
’17
“The criminal justice
and sociology
departments
are constantly trying
to find ways
to boost your
resume”
By
Joe
Guistina
13
www.lycoming.edu