Luke Whitehouse
@Lwhitehouse12
As she walked off the court victorious once again – for the seventh time in the 2023-24 season – Springfield College forward Angela Czeremcha donned her usual postgame smile – much different from her in-game-focused look.
Czeremcha had other reasons to smile too.
She recorded her fourth consecutive double-double, in what arguably might be the most dominant stretch of the junior’s career. She finished the game with 15 points, 12 rebounds, four steals and two blocks – showcasing her entire repertoire as a two-way star.
The talent has always been there.However, the opportunity to showcase it in full has not.
Czeremcha arrived on campus just over two years ago after graduating from Deerfield Academy in 2021. But the Pride already had a stacked roster of upperclassmen, so Czeremcha had to carve out a bench role as a first-year player.
And she did exactly that. She averaged nine points per game in her first year with the Posse and her first 25 games as a collegiate athlete.
The next season, there was more hope. She made 16 appearances in the starting five, averaging 10.1 points a night. But she had to battle a bug all year that prevented her from performing at 100 percent.
The injury bug.
“Battling those injuries last year was really tough,” Czeremcha said. “Especially with it being my hand. There were a lot of mental blocks that I had to go through including the inconsistencies in scoring. I knew that I was better than what I was producing.”
Fast forward to 2023.
Springfield’s superstar forward, the 2022 and 2023 WBCA Honorable Mention All-American Sam Hourihan, graduated.
Suddenly, there was a void in the starting lineup.
With Czeremcha’s skill set as a prerequisite, a it was a consensus among the team that Czeremcha would take Hourihan’s place as a leader and in on-court production.
Although they were big shoes to fill, she was ready.
“I recognized at the beginning of the season that I really wanted to step up and be that vocal leader and lead by example,” Czeremcha said.
Admittedly, she was a bit nervous.
“I did feel a little pressure in the beginning, just because there was so much to learn and so many people were counting on me,” Czeremcha admits. “I don’t think I was prepared for it in the beginning.”
But Czeremcha’s relentless work ethic over the offseason began to pay dividends early on – she scored a combined 40 points in the Pride’s first two contests.
“Angie worked her butt off this summer,” head coach Naomi Graves said. “She knew this year it was gonna be her time. It’s her chance to now be the person inside that’s gonna say ‘give me the rock.’”
What Graves forecasted has come to fruition and then some.
Through eight games, Czeremcha leads the Pride in points per game (16.3), rebounds per game (10.1), steals per game (2.0) and field goal percentage (51.2).
It was Czeremcha’s radiant leadership that really caught her coach’s eye.
“I think anytime you see your post player get a steal and go full court it shows her intensity,” Graves said. “It shows tenacity and that she’s not taking possession off. [Its huge] because she represents not only yourself but a lot of the young players who are looking at her saying, ‘I want to be like you.’”
Although Czeremcha has taken her play on the court to another level, her maturity has been the biggest proponent in her evolution as a player. Things that don’t show up in the scorebook.
“She knows how to target her energy, and she knows where to target her energy and she’s less, less likely to pick up those emotional fouls,” Graves said. “She gets it now. And I think that’s partially because she’s ready to get it. She’s confident and when things don’t go well she stays in the present moment and knows that she can contribute more than just one thing in scoring or rebounding.”
The Pride have been on fire thus far, racing out to a record of 7-1, and Czeremcha has been a big part of it.
Those in Blake Arena have the privilege of witnessing the show that Czeremcha puts on every time she steps on the court.
But Graves believes her star should be recognized beyond Alden Street.
“Personally, I think she’s exceeded my expectations,” Graves said. “I’m a little frustrated that other people aren’t seeing the same thing that I am. So I’m pretty determined to let them know her name.”
Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics