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Mar. 14—Looking back, Lyric Grumblatt realizes that she was one-dimensional. She was a decent player while at Manchester Memorial High School but scored most of her points from beyond the 3-point line.
At Rivier University, Grumblatt developed her inside and mid-range games on the way to becoming both the program's and the Great Northeast Athletic Conference's all-time leading scorer.
The 5-foot-8 graduate student from Manchester averaged 26 points, eight rebounds and two assists per game in January, when she also became the GNAC's all-time leading scorer.
For her performance that month, Grumblatt was named the January New Hampshire Union Leader Apple Therapy Services/Bedford Ambulatory Surgical Center/Express MED Athlete of the Month by the Union Leader Board of Judges.
"Coming out of high school, my thing was always just kind of 3-point shots," Grumblatt said. "I really had to grow and evolve my game in order to adjust to the college level and to be able to stay an offensive threat. So that meant getting inside more, using my size and then developing a mid-range game this year (that) specifically really opened things up for me."
On the season, Grumblatt shot 42.6% from the field and 32.5% from 3-point range, averaging 26.3 points per game. She also set the program single-season scoring record with 683 points.
In January, she posted three double-doubles and scored at least 20 points in eight games as the Raiders went 6-4 that month.
Grumblatt set the GNAC all-time scoring record as part of her double-double outing (23 points, month-high 15 rebounds) in Rivier's 79-68 win at Anna Maria College on Jan. 21.
The GNAC Player of the Year surpassed the previous record of 2,267 points, set by Norwich University alumna and Albertus Magnus College assistant coach Aliah Curry.
Grumblatt, who passed Rivier coach and 2015 graduate Deanna Purcell for the program's all-time scoring record earlier in the season, finished her career with 2,523 points.
Rivier hosted Albertus Magnus the game after Grumblatt set the GNAC record, losing 76-64 on Jan. 25. Curry participated in a ceremony honoring Grumblatt on the achievement.
Grumblatt's role on the team was always to be the primary scorer, she said.
"I have a lot of free rein from my coaches but also my teammates. They know where to get me the ball, where I'm going to be most successful," Grumblatt said. "They're definitely always looking for me, but I think the best part of it all is nothing's really forced. ... It happens really naturally. Everybody gets good looks, too, so I think that's really the best part about it."
By the end of her career, Grumblatt was most dangerous offensively when driving to the hoop. That's largely how she scored her career-high 46 points in the Raiders' 83-64 victory at Lasell University on Jan. 29.
"That was just a really fun game," Grumblatt said. "I was just kind of on that day. It was a lot of just layup after layup because of the plays that we were able to run and getting the good thread-the-needle passes from my point guard so I was able to really open up the whole court."
The Raiders' season and Grumblatt's career ended with a 93-84 GNAC quarterfinal loss at University of Saint Joseph of West Hartford, Connecticut, on Feb. 25.
Grumblatt said she and her fellow six graduating players, including former Memorial teammate Jess Carrier, wanted to change the culture of Rivier's program. They wanted players to treat their commitment to the team like a full-time job and not a hobby.
Rivier finished with a winning record three of the past four years and reached the GNAC semifinals during the 2022-23 season — its first trip there since its 20-win 2013-14 campaign.
The team finished with a sub-.500 record in six straight seasons before Grumblatt's class arrived on campus.
"We built such a strong foundation that, I think, is going to be there for a long time afterwards," Grumblatt said. "That was our main goal coming in."
Other athletes considered for the January honor were University of Wisconsin women's hockey player Caroline Harvey, Plymouth State University men's hockey player Brendan Doyle, Concord High School boys hockey player Chad LaRiviere, St. Thomas Aquinas boys basketball player Cole McClure, Pinkerton Academy girls basketball player Sydney Gerossie and Belmont High School boys basketball player Keegan Martinez.
Harvey, a junior defenseman who lived in both Salem and Pelham growing up, recorded nine points (two goals, seven assists) over a 6-0-2 January run for NCAA Division I Wisconsin. The Badgers were the unanimous No. 1 team in the country all month in the USCHO.com poll.
Doyle, a junior forward from Stratham, tallied 10 points (seven goals, three assists) over a 7-2 January campaign for NCAA Division III Plymouth State.
LaRiviere, a senior center, had 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) as Concord went 8-1 in NHIAA Division I play in January.
McClure, a sophomore guard from Exeter, averaged 23 points per game over NHIAA Division III St. Thomas's 7-2 January run.
Gerossie, a senior guard, averaged 17.2 points per game and scored her 1,000th career point as NHIAA Division I Pinkerton went 7-2 in January.
Martinez, a senior forward, averaged 19.4 points per game as Belmont went 10-1 over its NHIAA Division III schedule in January.
.
To submit a nomination for future Athlete of the Month consideration, email the Union Leader Sports Department at [email protected] and enter "Athlete of the Month" in the subject line.
Continue reading...
At Rivier University, Grumblatt developed her inside and mid-range games on the way to becoming both the program's and the Great Northeast Athletic Conference's all-time leading scorer.
The 5-foot-8 graduate student from Manchester averaged 26 points, eight rebounds and two assists per game in January, when she also became the GNAC's all-time leading scorer.
For her performance that month, Grumblatt was named the January New Hampshire Union Leader Apple Therapy Services/Bedford Ambulatory Surgical Center/Express MED Athlete of the Month by the Union Leader Board of Judges.
"Coming out of high school, my thing was always just kind of 3-point shots," Grumblatt said. "I really had to grow and evolve my game in order to adjust to the college level and to be able to stay an offensive threat. So that meant getting inside more, using my size and then developing a mid-range game this year (that) specifically really opened things up for me."
On the season, Grumblatt shot 42.6% from the field and 32.5% from 3-point range, averaging 26.3 points per game. She also set the program single-season scoring record with 683 points.
In January, she posted three double-doubles and scored at least 20 points in eight games as the Raiders went 6-4 that month.
Grumblatt set the GNAC all-time scoring record as part of her double-double outing (23 points, month-high 15 rebounds) in Rivier's 79-68 win at Anna Maria College on Jan. 21.
The GNAC Player of the Year surpassed the previous record of 2,267 points, set by Norwich University alumna and Albertus Magnus College assistant coach Aliah Curry.
Grumblatt, who passed Rivier coach and 2015 graduate Deanna Purcell for the program's all-time scoring record earlier in the season, finished her career with 2,523 points.
Rivier hosted Albertus Magnus the game after Grumblatt set the GNAC record, losing 76-64 on Jan. 25. Curry participated in a ceremony honoring Grumblatt on the achievement.
Grumblatt's role on the team was always to be the primary scorer, she said.
"I have a lot of free rein from my coaches but also my teammates. They know where to get me the ball, where I'm going to be most successful," Grumblatt said. "They're definitely always looking for me, but I think the best part of it all is nothing's really forced. ... It happens really naturally. Everybody gets good looks, too, so I think that's really the best part about it."
By the end of her career, Grumblatt was most dangerous offensively when driving to the hoop. That's largely how she scored her career-high 46 points in the Raiders' 83-64 victory at Lasell University on Jan. 29.
"That was just a really fun game," Grumblatt said. "I was just kind of on that day. It was a lot of just layup after layup because of the plays that we were able to run and getting the good thread-the-needle passes from my point guard so I was able to really open up the whole court."
The Raiders' season and Grumblatt's career ended with a 93-84 GNAC quarterfinal loss at University of Saint Joseph of West Hartford, Connecticut, on Feb. 25.
Grumblatt said she and her fellow six graduating players, including former Memorial teammate Jess Carrier, wanted to change the culture of Rivier's program. They wanted players to treat their commitment to the team like a full-time job and not a hobby.
Rivier finished with a winning record three of the past four years and reached the GNAC semifinals during the 2022-23 season — its first trip there since its 20-win 2013-14 campaign.
The team finished with a sub-.500 record in six straight seasons before Grumblatt's class arrived on campus.
"We built such a strong foundation that, I think, is going to be there for a long time afterwards," Grumblatt said. "That was our main goal coming in."
Other athletes considered for the January honor were University of Wisconsin women's hockey player Caroline Harvey, Plymouth State University men's hockey player Brendan Doyle, Concord High School boys hockey player Chad LaRiviere, St. Thomas Aquinas boys basketball player Cole McClure, Pinkerton Academy girls basketball player Sydney Gerossie and Belmont High School boys basketball player Keegan Martinez.
Harvey, a junior defenseman who lived in both Salem and Pelham growing up, recorded nine points (two goals, seven assists) over a 6-0-2 January run for NCAA Division I Wisconsin. The Badgers were the unanimous No. 1 team in the country all month in the USCHO.com poll.
Doyle, a junior forward from Stratham, tallied 10 points (seven goals, three assists) over a 7-2 January campaign for NCAA Division III Plymouth State.
LaRiviere, a senior center, had 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) as Concord went 8-1 in NHIAA Division I play in January.
McClure, a sophomore guard from Exeter, averaged 23 points per game over NHIAA Division III St. Thomas's 7-2 January run.
Gerossie, a senior guard, averaged 17.2 points per game and scored her 1,000th career point as NHIAA Division I Pinkerton went 7-2 in January.
Martinez, a senior forward, averaged 19.4 points per game as Belmont went 10-1 over its NHIAA Division III schedule in January.
.
To submit a nomination for future Athlete of the Month consideration, email the Union Leader Sports Department at [email protected] and enter "Athlete of the Month" in the subject line.
Continue reading...
