Her story
Meghan Matthews grew up around basketball her entire life. Both her parents were coaches, which made her fall in love with the sport. She spent hours in the gym always working and practicing.
Matthews was on the varsity basketball team all four years of high school.
She knew she loved the sport, but her junior year she struggled to figure out if she wanted to continue in college. During her senior year, she tore her ACL. Tearing your ACL is one of the most difficult and painful injuries an athlete can go through.
During that injury, it really hit her that the game she loved playing could be taken away from her. Since then she knew she never wanted to quit. She has proven to be a key player as a forward for Cabrini’s women’s basketball.
AEC defensive player of the week
Matthews has been an instrumental player for women’s basketball this season. Her exceptional performances during game time and dedication made her earn the title defensive player of the week.
“Meghan is our anchor and really comes up big at crucial times and we will continue to rely on her as we head into the playoffs,” coach Kate Pearson said. “As a coach, it is always fulfilling to see your players honored by outsiders. We have a very balanced team and lots of weapons so they do not always get the accolades that they deserve but they all understand that the team winning is what is most important.”
This isn’t Matthews’ first time being recognized for her hard work, in 2018 she earned the title of All-CSAC honors, along with Kate Lannon, Sabrinia Hackendorn and Nomi Washington.
Matthews has been a key player for many victories.
She was a force to be reckoned with on the defensive end as she totaled a career high of seven blocks in a 54-51 victory over Marymount University. She also scored 10 points and nine rebounds to miss a triple double that game.
On Jan. 19, 2019 she scored 22 points against Neumann University, making that her season high thus far.
“It felt amazing to get defensive player of the week! I have honestly just been playing my game and that week we played our biggest competition in the league so my team and I had to bring our A game,” junior business management major Meghan Matthews said. “My head is always very clear during games and if I make a mistake I always focus on how I can make up for that and work through my mistakes.”
Matthews is close with her team and knows that she wouldn’t be in this position without the support of her coach and teammates. Her team is so proud of all the accomplishments she has made this season.
“It’s exciting to see all her hard work pay off and be recognized. We work hard everyday at practice to obtain more titles such as the one Meghan received,” junior psychology major Cassidy Gallagher said. “Our team, as a whole, really preaches and values the commitment of working hard every single day at practice. The reason we have had success this year and in the past can be attributed to the morals we have on hard work and commitment.”
After this season, Matthews is heading into her senior year. It’s one last season to work hard as a team and win as a team.
“We all contribute allowing for an equal game. I love my team because there isn’t just one ‘superstar,'” Matthews said.
