Bridgewater State's Elisha Homich Bounces Back

By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Her 2011-12 women’s basketball season at Bridgewater State University could not have gotten off to a much better start.

Elisha Homich was named the most valuable player of the season-opening P&H Travel Tip-Off Classic hosted by the Bears, averaging 19.5 points on 65 percent shooting, seven assists, five steals and 4.5 rebounds in a pair of wins.

In her third season at BSU, point guard Homich appeared ready to bring her game to a new level after averaging 7.8 points in 50 games as a freshman and sophomore.

Then, in the very next practice on a Monday night following that weekend tournament, the right arm of Homich began swelling, and it was later discovered that she had a blood clot.

Just like that, Homich’s promising ’11-‘12 season was over and she would spend the next nine months on blood thinners to deal with the problem.

While the Bears won the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships and advanced to the NCAA Div. 3 tournament, Homich was relegated to the role of spectator.

“It was scary,’’ she said. “But the coaches were awesome, the team was awesome, my family, everyone was awesome. They made it a lot easier.

“It was definitely hard (sitting out). I tried to help out the girls. I knew from their perspective what they needed.’’

Last August, Homich received medical clearance to return to basketball and she was ready to go when BSU opened its 2012-13 season on Nov. 16.

In her comeback season, Homich was named to the All-MASCAC first team after averaging 13.1 points, 5.2 assists, three rebounds and 2.8 steals in 26 starts.

She has helped the Bears (23-3) earn a third straight trip to the NCAA tourney, which they will open on Friday at 5 p.m. against the University of New England in Amherst.

Homich wears a sleeve on her right arm to help the circulation and takes a baby aspirin a day as a preventative measure, but other than that, there are no signs of the ailment that cost her last season.

“The doctors told me I don’t have any clotting issues,’’ said Homich. “It was kind of a fluke thing. All the stars aligned for the clot to happen. I take a baby aspirin a day to prevent another one, and they told me, knock on wood, that I’ll be good.

“It was a lot to deal with. It’s awesome, it’s definitely awesome to be back.’’

Homich recently received a medical red-shirt that will allow her to return as a fifth-year senior in the 2013-14 season, a year of eligibility she is planning to use.

The native of Ludlow, who is averaging 9.9 points and 3.9 assists in 78 career games, watched closely last season from the bench, helping her teammates and picking up tips for future use.

When Homich was given the green light to resume playing in the summer, she was able to put that to work.

“I didn’t want her to get her hopes up,’’ said BSU coach Bridgett Casey. “We knew it was season-ending, we were just hoping it wasn’t career ending.

“She was definitely excited when she got the call in August. She came back with another year of maturity after being kind of a player-coach on the bench, which really helped her when she came back.

“She had a better understanding of what we as a coaching staff were looking for out on the floor, She knows she’s an extension of us when she’s out there.’’