February 2, 2002
|
Growing up in a small steel mill town in western Pennsylvania, Alyson
Westbrooks would accompany her father to his workplace at the
University of Pittsburgh where she would practice her basketball
skills on the UPitt hard-courts and imagine herself as a collegiate
basketball star playing in front of the screaming Pittsburgh fans.
Little did she know then where her steadfast practicing would take her.
Following a stellar high school career, Alyson enrolled on the
Hilltop. The year was 1981 and Georgetown women's basketball was
facing a major transition. After eleven years of winning records
against local and Division III level competition, the start of Big
East play brought tougher competition. In addition, the program had
to adjust to three different head coaches in a four-year period.
Recruited by one head coach, Alyson played for two other head coaches
in her
|
|
| years at Georgetown. While the team's
win-loss record suffered a bit, Alyson stood tall among her teammates
and displayed the heart of a champion.
As a freshman, the 6'1" frontcourt player first served notice by
scoring 20 points against NCAA semi-finalist Maryland. In her second
year, she led the team in both scoring and rebounding. Alyson gained
a sweet sense of fulfillment that year, the inaugural Big East
season. In the first round of the conference tournament, in front of
those screaming Pitt fans, this burgeoning college basketball star
pulled down ten rebounds in leading the Hoyas back from a 20-point
deficit against Pittsburgh to a hard-fought 61-60 victory.
As a junior, Alyson dominated play in the Iona Tournament, scoring 37
points and collecting 26 rebounds over two games. Team captain in
her final season, she ended her collegiate career tied for first at
Georgetown in career field goal shooting percentage, second in career
rebounding, third in career blocked shots, fourth in career scoring,
and fifth in career free throw percentage. In each of her final
three seasons, Alyson led the team in rebounding. The team, in her
senior year, ended the season as the highest scoring team in
Georgetown history.
Alyson was twice awarded the Coaches' Award as the team's most
valuable player. As a senior, she earned Dean's List honors and
graduated with a major in English and a minor in Fine Arts.
Rejecting offers to play professionally, Alyson remained on the
Hilltop first as an admissions officer and later as a coordinator in
the Center for Minority Student Affairs. During this time, she began
the study of law and graduated from Georgetown University Law Center
in 1991.
Following a clerkship with the DC Superior Court, Alyson served as an
attorney first with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and then
with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She
currently resides with her husband, Pierre Thomas in Alexandria, VA
where she is writing a book.
|
|
|
