www.telegram.com/story/sports/college/2022/04/12/former-st-peter-marian-star-kosta-drosidis-drives-anna-maria-winning-baseball/7291336001/Nice update by Jen Toland:
LaBarbera prepares for Badger life
For the final time last week, Holy Cross senior Avery LaBarbera cleaned out her locker at the Luth Athletic Complex.
She laughed as she discovered T-shirts and shorts with the old HC logo from her freshman year, and reflected as she re-read a note from former Holy Cross basketball teammate Lauren Manis that she had tucked away in the locker’s cubby. LaBarbera left the building with a bag full of mementos and four years of memories.
“That was tough,” LaBarbera said. “It was sad. Cleaning out my locker was like the last piece.”
LaBarbera, who will graduate from Holy Cross next month with a degree in political science, had a sensational senior season while leading the Crusaders to the regular-season Patriot League championship and earning PL Player of the Year honors. With 1,478 points, LaBarbera, a 5-foot-6 guard, finished 13th on HC’s all-time list.
Her playing career, though, is not over.
LaBarbera will play a graduate year at the University of Wisconsin while working toward a master’s degree in sports leadership.
Badgers coach Marisa Moseley was the first to offer LaBarbera when she entered the transfer portal. LaBarbera and Moseley got to know each a other a little bit during Moseley’s three seasons coaching at Boston University, one of HC’s Patriot League foes.
“Our first game at BU,” LaBarbera said, “when I was a freshman, she told me after the game she had so much respect for how I played the game. Over the years, when we were warming up and doing layup lines, I would talk to her.
“Relationships are huge to me,” LaBarbera said. “I knew I wanted to go to a bigger school and far away from home, and Wisconsin, the Big Ten, it’s one of the best basketball conferences. I want to play and be somewhere where I’m comfortable. The fact that she knows my game will make the transition smoother.”
Moseley, who was the 2019 PL Coach of the Year, went 8-21 in her first season at Wisconsin. Before BU, she was an assistant for nine years at UConn.
“Avery is a consummate competitor and a phenomenal leader,” Moseley said. “I was able to watch her growth and development throughout the course of her career, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to coach her.”
LaBarbera’s mom, Lisa, drove from the family’s home in Harrison, New York, to Worcester for all of HC’s home games. Lisa already booked her flight for Wisconsin’s games in the 2022 Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, U.S.Virgin Islands, over Thanksgiving, and she will likely be spending a few nights at LaBarbera’s apartment near campus.
LaBarbera was the 2018-19 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, and she earned All-PL honors four times. This season, while leading Holy Cross to 20 wins, she posted 18 double-doubles.
The Crusaders suffered a crushing loss to Navy in the PL quarterfinals and came up short of their ultimate goal, capturing the PL tourney and automatic NCAA bid that goes with it, but with her leadership, energy and resolve, LaBarbera, who played for three coaches in four years, left her mark on the HC women’s program.
“For me,” LaBarbera said, “I just know I can go through adversity and overcome anything. I had a great four years, but obviously a lot of challenges. I just think the best thing is to rely on people who are in your corner, and I was really fortunate to be part of a great class and have a really great senior class to look up to when I was a sophomore.
"I love this place, and I’m definitely going to miss it," she added. "Next year is obviously going to be hard, but I think I can get through it.”
