Three years ago, junior Erin Harrington was concluding her senior season at Bishop Stang high school in nearby Fall River, MA. Harrington had what head coach Janice Savitz classified as an outstanding high school career at a good high school program. Thus, Tufts was a perfect fit for Harrington since it is a good school that near her home and Boston.
Harrington made the conversion from high school student and athlete to college student and athlete successfully. It is one thing to be an excellent high school athlete, but it is a far different playing field once one steps into the college light. The difference between a high school star turned college letdown and high school star continuing to greatness requires superior work ethic-something Harrington certainly does not lack.
"I go to practice everyday and work hard," Harrington said. "I'm not the fastest player on the team, so I have to work harder."
With the transition from high school to college, Harrington was forced to go from being the star to a sixth man her freshman year, though she did earn a fair amount of playing time. She also earned her nickname, which friends still playfully call her to this day.
"Coach called me 'E' freshman year and it has stuck ever since," Harrington said.
Unfortunately, with high expectations including a starting job sophomore season, she was sidelined for the first six games with an ailment.
"I tried to work to get back to the starting lineup after my injury," Harrington said.
Although faced with adversity, she triumphed and ended up starting by the end of the season. "She comes to practice and is ready to compete; she makes the players around her better," Savitz said. This season, not only has Harrington started 18 of 19 games, but also she is second on the team in scoring with 11.4 points a game. "Come game day she's focused," Savitz said. "You can really see it in her eyes; she comes ready to play. [Her play] doesn't surprise me at all because she competes so hard, it gives her the opportunity to be successful."
Harrington is one of the best shooters on the team; her medium range and three point shooting are among the best in the NESCAC. She has made the most three pointers on the team with 32. She is also shooting 32.3 percent from behind the line. Harrington prefers to shoot off of picks and there are certain parts of the offense that enable her to do so.
"We have plays that have options for her, she's always an option to hit the three," Savitz said. "However, something she might want to develop is the ability to create off of the dribble."
Her shooting ability produces a viable scoring option, which is valued by her team.
"Whenever [Harrington] catches the ball, we know she can do something with it," junior point guard Hillary Dunn said. "She could even post up a smaller player."
At 5'8'' Harrington is the average height of a female college shooting guard. Although she played center in high school, she was used to the shooting guard position through Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball. Through playing center in high school, she became apt at grabbing rebounds and working in the paint.
"I was used to rebounding when I came here and was already used to playing down low, in the paint," Harrington said. "I have started to work on my rebounding this year and it has improved a little."
The work has paid off and at 5.7 rebounds per game, Harrington is second on the team in board work only behind junior center Emily Goodman.
Harrington has shown she is a crunch time player as she increases her rebounding in conference play as she averages 6.6 rebounds per game in five conference match-ups.
"I box out, but I also go after the ball," Harrington said of her rebounding style. "On offensive rebounds too, I kind of just follow the ball."
With all of Harrington's offensive ability, she is often mistakenly overlooked as a good defender. "She works hard, I think she gets the best out of her abilities," Savitz said.
Harrington is currently tied for third on the team with 18 steals.
"I try to keep the girl in front of me. Some of the girls are bigger and stronger so I have to use my strength," Harrington said. "I play both big and small girls, so I have to adjust."
Although Harrington excels on the floor, she also has fans off the court.
"She's really competitive on the court, but off the court she's one of the nicest, funniest, and sweetest person I know," former teammate, junior Sarah Conlon said.
Harrington is also a huge fan of New England sports, as Larry Bird is her favorite basketball player of all time and she is a Patriot fan.
"I'm a Patriots fan; I was happy they won. It was great being in Boston the night of the Super Bowl," Harrington said.
Although basketball ends in a couple of weeks, Harrington is planning to play intramural softball with some of her women's basketball friends. "She's just a pleasure to work with," Savitz said of Harrington.
