Orange Coast’s Ludwicki Has a Happy Homecoming

Jennifer Ludwicki took a step backward in her basketball life in the minds of most, but it has given her reason to smile . . . again.

Ludwicki, a sophomore swing player, came to Orange Coast from Washington State, where she played her freshman season. She also had a standout career at Fountain Valley High.

She traded plane trips for van trips, large arenas for smaller and often poorly-lit gyms. Still, she couldn’t be happier.

“Basketball is a lot of fun right now,” Ludwicki said. “Not like last year. It was kind of a job.”

Ludwicki signed with Washington State knowing that Pullman can be a tough place to get used to for someone from a more populated area such as Southern California or Long Island, where Ludwicki lived until she was a high school freshman. But Washington State meant a chance to play in the Pacific 10.

Her shot was off at the start of last season, and that started things on a downward trend. After the season, she made the decision to transfer to a community college so she wouldn’t have to sit out a season, as she would have at another Division I school.

“I knew [Washington State] wasn’t the place for me,” she said. “It just wasn’t the right program. I didn’t think I would progress as a person or a basketball player.”

Ludwicki came to Orange Coast without the attitude that she was too good for the community college level, according to Pirate Coach Mike Thornton.

At times she has shown she’s clearly above most of her competition this season.

She has been the leading scorer or tied for that honor in 21 of OCC’s 22 games. She also scored 30 or more points in three consecutive games and is leading the Orange Empire Conference with a 22-point average.

Orange Coast is 15-7 overall and tied for second in conference at 3-1 with Irvine Valley and Cypress. The Pirates host first-place Santa Ana (15-2, 4-0) Wednesday and Irvine Valley Friday. Both games are at 7:30 p.m.

“People expect me to feel pressure [about scoring],” Ludwicki said. “But I don’t. I just try to have fun.” She is also excelling as a rebounder, thanks in part to her determination to get to loose balls. Ludwicki, who is 5 feet 10, averages 8.5 rebounds.

“She’s been a total team player,” Thornton said, “and she’s probably our most popular player. She brings the water bucket to practice every day and I never told her to. She’s just a real class act and she loves to play.”