Princeton University Athletics
Getting To The Point
December 09, 1999 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 9, 1999
If you saw a basketball game at Norristown Area High School during the 1996-97 season, then senior Jessica Munson wasn't the point guard. You didn't see her bring the ball up the court and set up the offense. What you did see was a 5' 8” post player jumping center for the defending Suburban I league championship team. Now, after two seasons under her belt as a Princeton Tiger, Munson has developed into the floor leader for the Orange and Black and hopes she can push these Tigers to another Ivy League title.
Maybe there is such a thing as love at first sight. That seemed to be the case for Munson as she was making her decision on college. One application, one acceptance letter, one visit and the decision was simple.
“I first came to [visit] Princeton in May of my junior year,” Munson says. “It was a beautiful spring day, and just walking around campus, I knew this was where I wanted to be. Things just eventually fell into place. I didn't go on any other visits, and this is the only place I applied.”
Taking the step from high school to college means making major adjustments on and off the court. Sometimes one may have to see more of the game from the sideline than desired, but more often that not it's more than game experience that teaches the most valuable lessons. Munson found herself in that position as a freshman playing behind senior Zakiya Pressley '98, who led the team with 64 assists in 1997-98 and finished eighth all-time with 164 for her career. Munson appeared in 14 games that season, averaging only four minutes per contest. It wasn't the playing time, or lack there of, that led Munson to where she is today.
“[Watching Zakiya] was probably the most valuable learning experience my freshman year. Most of the learning came in practice, just guarding Z, and in turn her guarding me,” Munson says. “I learned what it takes and the mentality you have to have to run a team.
“I think the biggest thing that I learned from her was defensively being annoying—being in someone's shorts all the time. I don't have the quickness that Z had, but I try and carry over a lot of things she did on defense.”
When Princeton lost Pressley to graduation, there were shoes to fill, and Munson was ready for the challenge. Despite never playing point guard before coming to Princeton, Munson found her niche as the leader of the pack. By the fourth game of her sophomore season, Munson was given the starting nod, and it was a task she was ready to tackle.
“I was a post player in high school, and Coach [Feeley] told me she felt I could play the point, and now that I have played it, I feel like it is my natural position,” Munson says. “Being a court leader and being in charge of initiating the offense, I feel very natural doing that.”
Munson played in 26 games a year ago and ranked third on the team in steals (26), assists (46) and minutes played (755). She tallied eight rebounds in 43 minutes of play against Harvard, both career highs, and had her best overall game with nine points, three steals, one assist and one block without committing a turnover in 26 minutes of action in the 62-40 win over Yale.
Now it is 1999, and Munson is a tri-captain on a team looking for back-to-back Ivy League championships. Alongside fellow captains Kate Thirolf and Maggie Langlas, Munson will be counted on to be a vocal and visible leader for the team. Leadership is something Munson knows very well, having served as class president all four years at Norristown and treasurer of the student council as a senior. One role that Munson is proud of having is the one of being the role model for the younger players.
“I feel like I am doing that with Sue Dyer right now, especially in practice,” Munson says. “I feel like she is in the position I was in my freshman year. She is watching me and trying to learn from me. Through that, I can feel like someone else's mentor.”
The Tigers have faced a little tough luck so far this season. Turnovers and poor shooting from the free-throw line have left Princeton 1-4 heading into tonight's game. Munson, as well as the entire team, knows the record does not reflect the caliber of this year's squad. With an ambitious pre-league schedule, Princeton knows that preparation is the key.
“Our schedule is broken up into two seasons, the pre-league and the Ivy season. We know that a lot of the pre-league teams that we play against are really good. This is more of a test of just coming together as a team and getting comfortable playing with each other,” Munson says. “I think we have to look at it realistically that we are not going to win every pre-league game, but it is a great way for us to prepare for the Ivies, in terms of the teams we play against.”
Munson has stepped up her play so far this season, averaging more than eight points per game and dishing out 11 assists. She scored a career-high 13 points in the 69-63 win over Ohio. She leads the team in minutes played and was on the court all but one minute in the season opener against Lehigh.
When Munson finds herself off the court, which is very rare these days, there are academic duties to fulfill. An art history major at Princeton, Munson spent last summer working at an art museum in a historic town in North Carolina, which allowed her to pursue her interest in photography, taking and developing photographs used in museum publications. A lover of the outdoors, Munson hopes to work in Yosemite National Park next summer to assist in forest preservation.
There is still a lot of basketball left to be played before the Tigers close the book on the final decade of the 20th century. The lone junior on this year's roster knows what it takes to lead a team to a championship. One of the most intense players on the court, Munson finds herself driving a team to excellence, even if she isn't jumping center.