By: Mike Whaley

Lyric Grumblatt has never shied away from shooting. It’s something she has always done well. As she’s gotten older, it’s something she’s become even more proficient at while expanding her all-around game. Now in her fifth year at Rivier University in Nashua, the Manchester’native, a 5-foot-9 guard, is lighting up the NCAA Division III women’s basketball circuit one last time.

Lyric is a two-time player of the year and three-time first-team pick in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC). Already this season she has surpassed the 2,000-point total for her career and should shortly eclipse her coach, Deanna Purcell, as the program’s career scoring leader. She has 2,184 points after Thursday’s win at Emmanuel, hot on the heels of Purcell’s 2,192. Lyric has been among the NCAA Division III scoring leaders in three of her four seasons. She is currently ranked third with a 26.5 average. One chapter in her basketball odyssey will close when this season ends and another will open if she decides to play professionally overseas.

Lyric’s path to Rivier was not a straight line. She grew up playing basketball, drawn to the sport by her late grandfather David Grumblatt, who played some at the University of Richmond.  As she followed her dream, she focused initially on playing at a large Division I school far from home. “I hurt myself because I wasn’t really exploring all my options,” she said. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do either. I didn’t know what I wanted to major in. I didn’t have any direction.”

Her Division I tunnel vision caused her to overlook local D-II Saint Anselm College, which had started showing interest during her sophomore season at Manchester Memorial High School. Eventually she realized her Division I dream was a non-starter, so she realistically started looking locally at Division III schools. Emmanuel and Suffolk in Boston were her top two choices with Rivier as her last option. “I really wasn’t thinking about it at all,” Lyric said. “I just knew it was an option.”

A potential new experience in Boston was the motivation behind her first two choices. However, the tide turned when she sat down with her family to make a pros and cons list. A lot of it came down to academics and cost. Rivier had recently opened a science and innovation center, which fit with her interest in a biology major. The other two schools were geared more toward business and law.

Then, of course, there was money. Since Emmanuel and Suffolk were out of state it was going to be more expensive. Rivier was more cost effective. A third consideration was the opportunity to help restart the program, which prior to her arrival had put up an 11-57 three-year record. “I saw the potential to build something really special at Riv,” Lyric said.

Purcell recruited Lyric as an assistant coach in 2019-20. “I told her from the jump I wanted her to come and beat my scoring record,” Purcell said. “That was a goal we made right from the jump.”

A goal, maybe, but Lyric initially didn’t see it as a reality. While she had been an all-state player and a 1,000-point scorer in high school, she was skeptical that could happen. “It wasn’t something that I had in mind and even thought would be possible because it was a lot of points,” she said. 

Purcell felt Lyric was a bigger talent than Rivier at the time with the ability to play Division II or higher level D-III. “I asked her to take a chance on me and the former coach at the time,” Purcell said. “We can build something around you here. You can make your mark here.”

There were similarities in Purcell’s and Lyric’s journey to Riv. Both are local women (Purcell played at Alvirne HS in Hudson) who followed an older sister to Riv and initially did not seriously consider the school. “We have a lot of parallels, so it’s just really cool,” Lyric said.

Plus there’s the fact that they both have a scorer’s mentality. “I understand her in a different way than some of her other coaches,” Purcell said. “I was not that far removed from the game when she was a freshman (five years). I felt like I understood her on a personal level because I saw pieces of myself in her. I wanted to be that coach that related to her in a different way.”

The year before Lyric came to Rivier, Purcell was an assistant who became the head coach halfway through the season when Paul Williams stepped aside for personal reasons. She was named the coach for the ‘20-21 season, which was shut down by the Covid-19 pandemic – so no games. It was a blessing for both women.

Lyric said that as a freshman “that Covid year was pivotal in my growth as an athlete. I made so much progress and was able to work on everything to get better.”

For Purcell it was a chance to get her feet wet and figure out who she wanted to be as a coach taking over a struggling program. “It was a chance to kick start that and have a full year with the pressure off. It set the tone for what we wanted to do.”

In 2021-22, the Raiders and Lyric found success. Riv went a very respectable 14-12 after being picked to finish last in the GNAC North preseason poll. The Raiders won a game in the GNAC playoffs. Meanwhile Lyric was named the conference’s Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, while earning first-team honors. She led NCAA Division III in scoring, averaging 26.2 points per game to go along with 8.1 rebounds per game.

“I did a lot more than I expected,” she said. “It was one of my better years. It was also because nobody knew who I was.”

Lyric followed that up with a solid second year to again earn First Team All-Conference honors, although it did not match her first year’s output. She averaged 17.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Rivier had another very good season, going 14-13, winning a GNAC playoff game before losing in the semis to St. Joseph’s. “We had a new system with a lot of new people who could score the ball,” Lyric said. “I didn’t necessarily need to score 30 points per game, and that’s a good thing because the more weapons you have on the court the harder it is to stop your team.”

It was a very enjoyable season for Lyric. “I could do other stuff,” she said. “Focus on defense. It was a good year for other parts of my game.” 

Last year was a challenge. Another top player, Hannah Muchmore, went down with a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury seven games into the season. “I had to take on more of a scoring load and a defensive load because she’s such a good defender.”

Lyric was averaging 18-19 points a game in the early going, but when things started turning bad, she flipped a switch. “I was right back to where I was in my first year,” she said. “I knew I had to take over a little bit more.” Once again she was among the nation’s leaders in scoring with a 25.2 average (third), earning her second GNAC Player of the Year Award and third first-team all-conference honor.

Although the Raiders’ record (10-17) fell off from the two previous seasons, they once again made the playoffs. They beat Johnson & Wales in a play-in before falling in the playoff quarters to St. Joe’s once again – 74-64. Lyric had a double-double (30 points, 13 boards) as Riv pulled to within two late, before the Monks hit foul shots to win by 10.

As that season ended, Lyric looked ahead. She was planning to come back for her final season, but she also was taking a peek at the future after college – playing pro overseas. She decided to go to a showcase with the intention of using it as a dry run, measuring her chances after this season. It didn’t quite go as planned.

She did well at the showcase. People were impressed. Lyric was approached and asked “What if we offer you something today? What would you do?” She did not see that coming. Suddenly there was talk of flying overseas in August to play in Albania.

As they had when Lyric picked a school, the family got together to weigh her options. “I had one year left (at Rivier),” she said. “I had started something at Riv. It would have been stupid to leave. I decided to come back and I don’t regret it at all.”

That resonated with her coach. “We’re lucky she’s a really loyal kid,” Purcell said. “It wasn’t like we were just a stepping stone for her. She cares about the Rivier community. She cares about me and my vision for the program.”

Once she got to Rivier, Lyric never considered moving on to a bigger school. Had she had a first season and played well, she thinks maybe she might have. But as it was, she did the Covid year and then had a great campaign in Year 2. “At that point I’m already halfway through my academics,” she said. “Transferring felt a little more risky academically because you risk losing credits. That’s something that held me back.”

Looking back at her evolution, Lyric felt her defense improved exponentially since she was in high school. The main reason, she laughed, is that in high school she didn’t have a defensive mindset. “My job was to score as many points as I could,” she said. “I was going to guard their worst player so I could get a break on the defensive end. That’s not what they needed from me. We had a really good defensive anchor that allowed me to rest on defense.”

She used that Covid year to improve her defense. Another facet that she got better at was developing an inside game on offense instead of relying exclusively on her perimeter shooting. “I’m a bigger guard. I’m pretty tall at 5-8, 5-9, especially with my basketball shoes on,” she said. “Those guarding me were 5-4, 5-5. I had a couple of inches on them. I was able to start learning the inside game and taking advantage of those mismatches when I had them. Once I had that, I was able to kind of pick and choose whether to shoot a 3 or try to get inside.”

A third factor that helped her build her game was putting in time in the weight room. “That just changed everything,” she said. “I was feeling way better physically and mentally just because I was able to go longer. I was a lot stronger. That made me even better.”

Since Lyric is the most recognizable name in the GNAC, wherever she plays, she gets plenty of attention – and in a very physical way. “I’m expecting them to try to take me out,” she said of the other teams. “I get a lot of hits. I absorb a lot of contact. I know the whistle I’m getting versus everybody else is completely different because the refs think I can fight through a lot more. It’s definitely not fair, but it’s what I’m expecting.”

This speaks to Lyric’s maturity. Rather than dwell on how unfair it might be, she puts her head down and pushes forward. “I just have to fight that much harder than everyone else,” she said. “I’m getting my defender’s best game every game. Everybody wants to stop me. I just have to know I can’t take possessions off because everybody is wanting to give me their best game.”

Lyric recalls she did get frustrated during her second season because now everyone knew who she was. “I was getting the defender’s best games and I wasn’t getting the whistles,” she said. Athletic Director Jonathan Harper helped her to see the light. “I had to adjust. He talked to me,” she said. It was pretty simple. Harper told her the more she reacted the less calls she was going to get. “He told me the refs would start going against me.” It was a good lesson.

Now Lyric feels she has a nice middle ground where she is at peace with how she is treated, even if she doesn’t agree with it. “I don’t let it get to me mentally because what’s that going to do?” she said. “It’s something I can’t control.”

The Raiders are 2-0 in the conference and 6-7 overall. After a tough non-conference stretch, they are ready to make some noise in the GNAC, and maybe go deeper in the tournament. “If we can continue on the path that we’re on, we should be able to do some really good things,” Lyric said.

Coach Purcell agrees. Playing a difficult non-conference slate at the beginning was something she learned from other coaches. “Those tough games have helped. I think we’re ready,” the coach said.

Of course, how Rivier does will hinge on Lyric, which is a good thing. Purcell doesn’t see her slowing down. “She’s special,” her coach said. “I don’t think people pay attention to her beyond her scoring ability. I always like to note she is the hardest worker in the room 100 percent of the time. I’m not exaggerating when I say that. She doesn’t take plays off in practice. She’s always in the gym getting shots off. She’s there every day. She’s a role model for young kids in the state of New Hampshire who want to go and play college basketball and want to play at the level that she does. It didn’t come to her because she wanted it to. It came to her because she made it happen. She put herself in this position – breaking records and getting overseas looks.”

Mike Whaley can be reached at whaleym25@gmail.com