Meg Carroll becomes Lasell鈥檚 unexpected star
NEWTON, Mass. (BVM) – Coming into this season Meg Carroll had made three career starts and averaged 3.5 points per game over her first three seasons at Lasell. This season, Caroll started 22 games for the Lasers while also leading the team in scoring with 15.8 points per game.聽聽
Going from a role player to the focal point of the offense was something the senior never saw coming.聽
鈥淚 never saw myself being a key part of the team like that. In past years I got my confidence crushed a little bit,鈥� Carroll said.
Carroll said not having a season last year because of the pandemic was a big help to her game as she was able to train her individual skills and also lift more. Carroll also trained one–on–one with her sister Brianna, a freshman guard at Wentworth Institute of Technology.聽
鈥淲e would just go to work on each other. It was really helpful to have another basketball player in quarantine with me,鈥� Carroll said.
The senior also credited the Lasers coaching change as a major factor in her development.聽
鈥淚 want to say it was the coaching change that had happened, that was definitely a factor. I was more seen as a role player the past couple of years,鈥� Caroll said. 鈥淐oach Kelley [Sundberg] saw so much more in me than I did.鈥�
Carroll also made one key decision this coming into the year, dropping volleyball. The former two sport athlete retired from volleyball to keep playing basketball.聽
鈥淚 could feel the stress of the crossover season,鈥� Caroll said.
Playing basketball for 18 years of her life, the Lasers forward described basketball as a 鈥渃onstant鈥� and that she 鈥渨asn鈥檛 ready to give it up.鈥�
Sticking with basketball proved to be a great decision for Carroll as she will now live in the Lasell record books forever. Carroll holds the Lasers single game points record after her 39 point effort against Northern Vermont-Johnson earlier this season.
Carroll is also the only Laser to receive the honor of being named Division III National Player of the Week by the United States Basketball Writers Association. She averaged 35.5 points per game and 17.5 rebounds per game during the week of Nov. 29, 2021.聽
The announcement came as a shock to Caroll who had an individual goal to be the Great Northeast Athletic Conference player of the week. After the GNAC Player of the Week announcement, Carroll thought it was the peak of her season.聽
鈥淭here鈥檚 no way it can get any better than this,鈥� the senior said. 鈥淚 was in utter shock [when I got the National Player of the Week]. I cried, I called my dad. My dad has always been the person that I bond with for basketball鈥here was so much support from everyone at Lasell. It was a really good feeling.鈥�
Carroll credited her success to her coaches and teammates.聽
鈥淭he coaches, I cannot thank them enough. Coach Kelley knows what she is doing, she knows basketball,鈥� Carroll said.
The senior was appreciative of the work that assistant coach Jamal Smith put in with her.聽
鈥淗e really helped me break out of my shell, I felt like he did that for a lot of the post players,鈥� Carroll said.
However, the success came with a great amount of pressure for Carroll.聽
鈥淚 felt an immense amount of pressure from myself realizing I was a key part of the offense,鈥� the Lasers forward said. 鈥淚t was a hard thing to adjust to at the beginning of the year.鈥�
Longtime teammate and friend Peyton Young played a huge role in helping Carroll deal with that pressure.聽
鈥淎fter I broke the school record I was really in my head the next game鈥� It put a lot of pressure on me. I was going into games very anxious,鈥� Carroll said. 鈥淚 remember sitting down and talking to Peyton about it and she was like you do not need to score a bunch of points every game. You need to be the best post player and best captain and that is more than enough. That definitely calmed me down the rest of the season.鈥�
Playing together since the fifth grade Carroll and Young have always supported each other.
鈥淸Young] has been an absolute rock this year, the beginning of the season when she hurt her ankle, she was just cheering me on from the sidelines. [She] was my number one fan and always has been,鈥� Carroll said.
Carroll鈥檚 individual efforts on the court helped to lead the Lasers to breaking the school record for most GNAC wins in a single season with seven. The Lasers also made the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season.聽
Despite the success, the season did not end the way Carroll or the Lasers wanted it to as Carroll fractured her ankle before the playoffs.聽
She 鈥渉aggled鈥� with the trainers to let her play leading up to the game, but when game day rolled around Carroll showed up to the bus in street clothes. Before they left the trainers pulled her aside and said she could possibly play on a minutes restriction, Caroll sprinted back to her room in her boot to grab her bag.聽
Carroll pushed through the pain and managed to give the Lasers 15 minutes off the bench in the first round against Norwich.聽
鈥淚t was definitely bittersweet to end my season like that, but I鈥檓 glad I got to go out on the court one more time and score my last career basket. That was nice,鈥� Carroll said.
Carroll was especially glad to be able to play one last game with Young.聽
鈥淭he best part of the Norwich game was getting to hug Peyton at the end,鈥� Carroll said.
The Lasers forward incredible season has come to an end but she is grateful for those she spent it with.聽
鈥淚鈥檓 really grateful for the coaches and all of my teammates,鈥� Carroll said.
