Each summer, Lotta-Maj Lahtinen has a lot to look forward to when she returns home to visit her family in Helsinki.
The summers are full of daylight. She can find some friends to ride on a boat around the nation’s archipelago. Her family has a summer cabin, and Lahtinen’s favorite way to spend her time is at her grandmother’s house, due in part to her excellent cooking.
From her days as a child growing up in Lappeenranta in Finland’s southeast corner, Lahtinen had fond experiences in her home country. Lahtinen frequently takes strolls to see nature’s work on her now-yearly visits. She would always ask her grandmother to cook carrots, and they would turn out to be the best vegetable dish she would ever have.
“Don’t forget the saunas,” Lahtinen said. “That’s the best thing in Finland.”
As Lahtinen and the rest of Georgia Tech’s older players celebrated Senior Night, she had familiar faces in the stands. Her parents made the trip, and her father came for the first time since Lahtinen’s freshman season. His daughter found herself frequently impressed at his improved English, too.
Nonetheless, Lahtinen got to show her family the environment where she has unfolded the next chapter of her life for the last four years. Her parents were excited to watch practice and savored those moments in McCamish Pavilion as Tech played Notre Dame and Miami.
“Your team ultimately becomes your family because it's who you spend the most amount of time with for four years. You have a bit more in common with (fellow) international players, but they're looking for family."
All the while, they got a true experience of Lahtinen’s experience at Georgia Tech. They saw it through discussions with coach Nell Fortner, hanging out with Lorela Cubaj, Sarah Bates, Digna Strautmane and Lahtinen’s teammates along with a glimpse of Tech’s people-oriented culture.
Lahtinen’s parents saw their daughter’s new home. A place where the senior guard has planted her roots while leading Tech to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Jackets open play Friday against Kansas (7:30 p.m., ESPNU) with the opportunity to defend their Sweet 16 berth from a year ago.
Lahtinen has not publicly made it known if she plans to return for her extra season of eligibility.
“Your team ultimately becomes your family because it’s who you spend the most amount of time with for four years,” Fortner said. “You have a bit more in common with (fellow) international players, but they’re looking for family.”
“This is my second home now,” Lahtinen said. “There’s nothing here that I don’t like.”
Early on, Lahtinen struggled to get accustomed. She came to Georgia Tech after the previous coaching staff recruited her from the Finland national team but had a bit of a culture shock when arriving in the United States. She missed home at first, and still does around the holidays when Tech has to play and Lahtinen can’t fly home.
But now, Lahtinen doesn’t miss home quite as much. She returns each summer to visit her family, but her journey to America allowed Lahtinen to be independent and “find my own way,” she said. She doesn’t quite have a Southern accent, at least not consistently. It can still make its way out on occasion. She sometimes has people give a shocking reaction when revealing she isn’t American.
“We’re a little bit more connected. We understand the struggle of living in your own country, then experiencing the United States for the first time,” Cubaj said. “We’re going to have our differences, but it helps us understand each other. It especially matters during the season when you don’t have your family close to you.”
Lahtinen’s best memories are aplenty. She’ll never forget beating N.C. State on its home floor as a sophomore. She smiles immediately while thinking about last season’s tournament-opening win against Stephen F. Austin, when the Jackets rallied from a massive deficit. Tech’s early-season win against Connecticut might go down in program lore.
She’s had all of these experiences as one of Tech’s stars. A lot of the spotlight goes on Cubaj, and rightfully so, as a projected WNBA first-round draft pick. Lahtinen, though, has been one of the Jackets’ anchors. Tech wouldn’t have made it to the Sweet 16 a season ago if not for the savvy guard’s show of scoring. Lahtinen has proved her place at Tech, and Fortner said she doesn’t have to be reminded of her value as the team’s “head of the snake.”
“She’s done a really good job transitioning over,” Fortner said. “There’s a lot of responsibility in that position. The other thing we had to balance is being able to run the team, get her teammates involved and we needed her scoring.”
This season, though, hasn’t been the easiest. Lahtinen had to shift over to point guard after Loyal McQueen transferred to Alabama and Kierra Fletcher went down with a foot injury. Then, in a game against Hofstra, Lahtinen went down with a knee injury. She missed the following contest at Purdue but hasn’t sat out since.
Through it all, Lahtinen has averaged 11 points and 4.2 assists per game.
“I’ve played with a lot of people throughout my time,” Cubaj said. “She’s definitely one of the hardest-working people I’ve ever met. She’s inspiring to me because she always wants to get better and never complains. It’s really impressive.”
Fortner said one of the most enjoyable parts of coaching Lahtinen is her emotion. She’s always invested, dedicated and locking eyes with Fortner. She’s driven to be her best, and Lahtinen said it comes from an opportunity to compete. She doesn’t take it for granted.
She gets energy from teammates. It allows her to yell after a 3-point make, bring life to the basketball court or lead with aggression.
“If there’s a 3-pointer or an and-1, it gives me goosebumps,” Lahtinen said. “You have to work for those things. You’re sacrificing your body for the team. It reminds me that we’re doing this for each other.”
Lahtinen comes from Finland, while Cubaj comes from Italy. Elizabete Bulane and Strautmane made the trip from Riga, Latvia. Nerea Hermosa and Aixa Wone Aranaz hail from Spain. They all ended up in the same place.
For a final time, this exact group of Tech players who found home together get to take the court.
“We will enjoy the moment and go get it,” Lahtinen said.
