The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Trish, Carly Fabbri savoring moments
STORRS — There have been fleeting moments when mother and daughter acknowledge that it will soon come to an end.
Sitting in the airport in Buffalo in January, when Tricia Fabbri joked with her point guard/daughter Carly that this would be the last time they would share the trip to Canisius and Niagara. Or during a family dinner after Quinnipiac’s Senior Day, when mom said simply, “Hell of a run, kid.”
Otherwise, though, Tricia and Carly have been too immersed in the daily grind to spend much time pondering the calendar. But here they are, ready to face unbeaten and No. 1 ranked UConn in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 Monday night in Storrs and suddenly a euphoric four-year run is on the verge of closing.
Carly Fabbri, the kid who grew up dreaming of wearing a Bobcats uniform, is completing her senior season. When it finally ends, Fabbri will leave as a resounding winner — Quinnipiac is 113-25 over the past four seasons, a run punctuated by three NCAA Tournament appearances and run to the Sweet 16 last year.
“She’s going to leave the program better than she found it,” Tricia Fabbri said. “Seniors want to leave it better than they found it, and it’s getting harder and harder to do because we keep taking
those next steps in the program. So it’s really storybook.”
Basketball success aside, the college experience has been unique. Carly, who played on a state championship team at Lauralton Hall, grew up around her mother’s program, from hanging out with players on the bus to partaking in team dinners.
This was a basketballplaying girl in Connecticut who wasn’t much of a UConn fan. She loved Sue Bird, but Quinnipiac was her team. It was family.
When it came time to choose a college, she picked Quinnipiac over Pennsylvania. And after averaging just 4.2 minutes over 18 games as a freshman, she has evolved into a key cog on an NCAA Tournament team.
“I didn’t know if I was going to play at all, coming into Quinnipiac,” Carly said. “But I was given the opportunity a little bit more my sophomore year to get out and get on the court. From freshman year to this year, I’m really filling that point guard role. That’s what I’m most proud of.”
Carly says her mother has always treated her like any player, never showing favoritism. It was important to set boundaries and
create a line between her role as coach and her role as mother.
“I think initially, there was a really big line,” Tricia said. “She didn’t even know whether to call me ‘Mom’ or call me ‘Coach,’ so she said nothing when we were on the court. Now, we have a little fun. She’ll come in the office and say, ‘Hey, Mom, how’s it going?’ ”
Her advice to coaches tasked with coaching their own children?
“You better have the right kid,” she said. “Really, she’s got a great demeanor, she works for everything. She sets a great tone for the team. Team first, and that’s how we win a lot of games.”
Carly said she exhaled and reminded herself of how lucky she was after last year’s NCAA Tournament run. The family, which lives in Stratford, has watched and rewatched the win over Miami in the second round, so Carly is always reminded of the experience — a historic run shared with her mother.
“Really, to be able to do it with my mom as the coach, her daughter out there actually getting some playing time, it’s something we’re going to live with for the rest of our lives,” Carly said.
This season, Carly said, has been a game-by-game process. Less focus on the future, more on the incremental moments.
So Carly is not ready for it to end. Her immediate future after graduating will including graduate school at Quinnipiac, as she pursues a career as a physician assistant. She’ll keep playing the sport she loves, offering herself as a practice player for her mother’s team.
And she might coach. She’s been an on-court coach for the Bobcats and she’s grown up around a coach, so it’s a natural path.
Maybe in a month or so, mother and daughter will reflect on the experience. For now, though, there’s no time for emotion.
“I do honestly think we’ve done a really solid job of enjoying the moments,” Tricia said. “There are great moments and she has really made it fun. When January turns into February and March still seems like it’s so far away, it does get away from you … but she’s made it really fun for everyone. And we have enjoyed it all. My husband [Paul] was not going to not let us enjoy the ride and keep speaking to how incredible it is.”