It took some time, but Jamie Plummer is comfortable again.

“I had talked to a lot of schools and decided to go to Bates,” said Plummer, a Richmond High School graduate. “But it just wasn’t for me. It wasn’t the right fit so I transferred right in the beginning to the (University of Maine at Augusta). I really just wanted a smaller school. It turns out, UMA has been a great place for me.”

Plummer, a freshman, has made her presence felt for the Moose this season, putting up impressive numbers at both ends of the court. She is averaging 17.4 points and a team-best 11.7 rebounds a game. Plummer also leads the Moose with a 48.7 field goal percentage. She also leads the Yankee Small College Conference with 2.5 blocks per game.

“She does everything for us,” UMA coach Jennifer Laney said. “We have a great fit that works both ways. She’s found a home here. She had started off at Bates but decided it wasn’t right time or the right fit. She ended up here the second week of school. She went through the process quickly.”

At Richmond, Plummer primarily played in the paint. She led the Bobcats to three consecutive Western D championships, establishing herself as one of the dominant post players in the conference.

Her role has changed slightly with the Moose (8-7, 4-3 in YSCC).

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“All of our players have to play a variety of roles here,” Laney said. “She does anything we ask of her. Jamie can fill any role we need, whether I need her to guard opposing team’s best player or to play outside. She’s going all over depending on the night and matchups. Sometimes she is at the five, but she has a deadly 3-point shot, too. We don’t just keep her inside.”

And that suits Plummer just fine. The 6-foot-1 Plummer enjoys playing a variety of positions, although she acknowledged there was an adjustment to the college game.

“At Richmond, we were expected to blow everyone out every single game,” she said. “Here, every game is close. You have to be mentally and physically prepared. The biggest change was the quickness of the game, the way we get up and down floor. We try to run down the floor and score before the other team can set up. It’s been a big change, but I like it.”

The Moose have high expectations this season thanks to a versatile team that also features former Monmouth standout guard Jennifer Lola, whose 26.2 points a game leads the team.

UMA begins a crucial stretch of conference games Wednesday night at Southern Maine Community College (12-5, 8-1).

“We really think we can make a push to make it to nationals,” Plummer said. “We’re trying to get a few big conference wins to put us in good standing. We expect to do really well this semester.”

Added Laney: “We have a fairly new team come together really well. This second half of the season we’ll be going at our strongest. We had a strong schedule in the first semester and we worked through some kinks to find out where our strengths are together.”

Bill Stewart — 621-5640bstewart@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @billstewartkj


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