A class of her own: Carly Fabbri leaves Quinnipiac women’s basketball better than she found it
March 19, 2018
By: Sierra Goodwill
One of the most emotional moments in all of sports is when a college athlete walks off the court for the final time in his or her career.
All of the hours, the blood, sweat and tears put into the sport and it’s over in an instant.
But for Carly Fabbri, it wasn’t so somber. She ended her time as a Quinnipiac Bobcat in front of a crowd of nearly 9,000 people with a chant of her name ringing through the mecca of women’s basketball: Gampel Pavilion.
“Growing up here, everyone talks about UConn,” Fabbri said. “I was a Bobcat fan my entire life, but being here was really incredible. We had a good chunk of Quinnipiac fans out there.
“It was just the opportunity of a lifetime. Not many people get to play in front of thousands of people. That’s something I will remember for the rest of my life.”
No. 5 will leave Hamden the most decorated player in program history. 114 wins, three conference championships and three NCAA Tournament wins is nothing to hang your head about.
Her mom and her coach (yes, they’re the same person) couldn’t be more proud of Carly’s accomplishments and what she has done for the future of Quinnipiac women’s basketball.
“It was really a storybook ending to have with your daughter,” Tricia Fabbri said. “For her to lead the team into the Sweet 16 and again this year with a 9-seed and get the win over Miami. For her to play in front of (9,000) people in a really competitive game. I was really excited for her to have this moment to close her career.”
The younger Fabbri’s class started out a lot bigger than just one active player. Jen Fay got hurt her sophomore year and decided to redshirt for an extra season of eligibility. Sarah Shewan suffered a career-ending injury on Dec. 1 against Richmond. And Brittany Johnson suffered so many knee injuries that she is no longer even a member of the team.
Despite all of this adversity, this senior class has still managed to have an enormous impact.
“They have left the program even better when they found it,” the head coach said. “We continue to raise an incredible standard of excellence. It’s hard to do.”
Although Carly Fabbri went just 1-for-3 from the floor Monday night in Quinnipiac’s Second Round game against No. 1 overall seed UConn, as the point guard up against All-American players that are nearly a foot taller, she took care of the ball incredibly well.
She had a 4-2 assist to turnover ratio and as a team Quinnipiac only committed seven total turnovers. That’s the least amount of any UConn opponent this entire season.
“We don’t turn the ball over. That’s a hallmark of this program,” Tricia Fabbri said. “We still had 56 possessions to UConn’s 44.”
Aside from ball security, Carly provided a lot of energy and effort for this Bobcat team, as well as a fair amount of long balls. In fact, she finished the season with the highest 3-point shooting percentage on the team at 42.3 percent and the most 3-point shots made with 65.
Her teammates are sad to see her go, but proud of what she’s done.
“It’s really sad we lost and seniors are going away and we’re not going to play with them anymore,” junior Paula Strautmane said. “But overall we’re feeling pretty good.”
Carly’s feeling pretty good, too. She said the memory of the support she received in her final collegiate game will stay with her forever.
“I had teachers, classmates and friends come and that’s what I’ll remember from today.”
