Emily Phillips simply “gets it,” according to Crown Point coach Angie Richwalski.
Phillips, a junior shortstop who was a reserve guard on the girls basketball team, already has made an impact for the Bulldogs this season. Her strong influence figures to continue to increase in the immediate and not-too-distant future.
“Her ability to transition from one sport to the next at a very high level makes her a unique athlete for us here at CP,” Richwalski said. “She just gets the team sports aspect of it. She gets it on a whole other level.
“She’s like the greatest kid ever. She’s such a great teammate. She’s such a great kind of captain.”
With the graduation of the Bulldogs’ talented 2021 class, Phillips stands front and center this season.
After starting at third base as a sophomore, when she hit .275 with four home runs and 15 RBIs, Phillips has moved to shortstop, which she also plays for her travel team. Anna Holloway, a 2021 all-state selection who’s a freshman at Notre Dame, had been entrenched at short.
“She was stuck playing third base last season,” Richwalski said. “It was, like, ‘Sorry, kid, you’re not taking Anna Holloway’s spot.’
“But she’s so athletic, she adapts. I could put her anywhere, any day, any time, and she would make it work. She’s that athletic and that much of a team player. She wouldn’t take her head out of the game.”
Indeed, Phillips said she will play where she’s needed.
“Coming in and having Anna before me, she’s quite the player,” Phillips said. “I worked with the coaches last year at playing third base to get ready. I handled it pretty well.
“I’ve played shortstop my whole life. But I’ve played both, so it’s not anything new to me. … If I’m on the field, I’m happy.”
Phillips, who is hitting .294 with a homer and five RBIs, has embraced her status as an upperclassman and team leader.
“I make sure everyone’s constantly working hard at practice,” she said. “Keeping a positive attitude is the biggest thing. Everyone cooperates and works together well. If something’s not going well, I try to help and do whatever I can. I do my best to keep a positive attitude, and hopefully it reflects on the entire team, which I think it does.”
Phillips has made an extra effort to help coordinate as schedules have been in flux because of weather and field conditions.
“She’s been awesome, just connecting with everybody and communicating with everybody,” Richwalski said. “She’s stepped up.”
Phillips is the youngest of four children. Her brother Nick, a former basketball player, is a senior in Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. Her brother Joey, a tennis player, is a Crown Point senior who plans to attend Purdue.
Phillips’ sister Caitlyn, a 2019 Crown Point graduate, is a standout softball player at Marian. As a third baseman, she was named to the all-state third team and was selected as a North All-Star when she was a senior, and she also played basketball for the Bulldogs.
Richwalski sees Phillips following a similar path.
“She’s growing up and starting to sound more and more like Caitlyn every day,” Richwalski said. “It’s like, ‘Let’s follow me, I got you, come on, here we go.’ She’s doing a great job.”
Phillips was part of the girls basketball team’s run to the 2021 Class 4A state championship. She scored nine points on three 3-pointers in the Bulldogs’ loss to eventual champion Noblesville at semistate in February.
“She’s stepped into some big roles here, and she’s going to do it in basketball next year,” Richwalski said. “She’s up for it because she’s such a hard worker.”
Indeed, the basketball team will lose five seniors, including four starters led by stars Jessica Carrothers and Lilly Stoddard.
“I’m going to have to take on a bigger role. We’re all going to have to take on bigger roles,” Phillips said. “We have a big junior class — eight juniors — and that’s going to be the biggest group of seniors we’ve had in a long time. It’s definitely going to be different, but we’ll see what’s to come.
“Softball’s always been my No. 1, but I love basketball too. Being here helps me and goes into basketball, and basketball puts me in a good place conditioning-wise, it helps me mobility-wise and being quicker to the ball. Both of the sports piggyback off each other with getting to work with different people and leadership roles.”
