By: Toni Wetmore
Grace LaBarge had an unorthodox recruiting experience due to COVID-19.
“I wasn’t able to meet anyone in person or really go on a visit,” LaBarge, an Inverness, Illinois, native said. “I did end up coming here and I was only allowed to stay outside, and I did a lot of Zooms with coaches and players.”
Despite being unable to host LaBarge in person, the Bobcats she spoke with left a lasting impression on her.
“It was honestly an easy decision for me because of how they made me feel, what they said would be expected of me and everything like that,” LaBarge said.
Quinnipiac women’s basketball honored its three seniors against Manhattan on Saturday, including LaBarge.
Her parents, Jim and Ann LaBarge, made the two-hour flight to Connecticut for their youngest daughter’s senior celebration.
“It’s kind of weird, because in the blink of an eye this time has gone by and here we are,” Ann LaBarge said.
“I think her experience (at Quinnipiac) has been great,” Jim LaBarge said. “We miss having her closer to home, but I think it’s been an opportunity for her that has been awesome.”
Ann LaBarge smiled as she considered her favorite memory of Grace’s time as a Bobcat.
“When she scored 20 points and didn’t miss one basket the entire game,” Ann LaBarge said of the Bobcats’ game against Princeton in the 2023-24 season.
Jim LaBarge laughed.
“Yeah, that’s a good one.”
While being over 900 miles away from home, Grace LaBarge has found a second family in her teammates and coaches.
“I think we all look at Grace as a big sister,” Quinnipiac sophomore guard Karson Martin said. “She’s an amazing leader, she knows what she’s talking about and she’s fun.”
LaBarge shifted uncomfortably as Martin spoke highly of her.
“I feel weird,” LaBarge said in response at the postgame press conference podium.
After reassuring LaBarge, senior guard Jackie Grisdale added onto Martin’s statement.
“It’s an honor to have played with Grace for the last four years, I feel like we have that special bond coming in together as freshmen,” Grisdale said. “It’s just been really cool to watch her grow and just the confident person that she is… I love playing with her because she gives full effort all the time.”
Bobcats coach Tricia Fabbri said LaBarge’s growth is exactly what you want to see from a player, and that comes with the confidence Grisdale mentioned.
“It was her putting in the work, us coaching her up and then her being able to take those nice incremental year-to-year steps to get to where (she’s) playing and contributing at a really high level to a really good team and (she’s) a reason that’s happening,” Fabbri said. “She literally has a clutch play in a lot of our wins that are tight. She always comes up with that three, the steal, the rebound… and makes a play that we have success in.”
This was evident when the Bobcats faced Iona on the road this season and LaBarge’s steal with three minutes to go led to a Quinnipiac layup to extend the tight lead for the win.
LaBarge is averaging 5.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game this season, making an impact in many of Quinnipiac’s down-to-the-wire games this season.
The job’s not done for LaBarge and the Bobcats.
Quinnipiac has two home and two road contests left in the regular season, including in-state rival Fairfield, before it heads to Atlantic City, New Jersey, to play in the MAAC Tournament.
LaBarge knows what the Bobcats need to do if they want to take home the conference championship.
“Kill it. Crush it,” LaBarge said on the goal for the rest of her senior season. “Crush every game. Just really take it to them every game, come out really hot, have a hot start, have a hot second half.”
LaBarge will look to implement this mentality as she and her team (22-3, 14-2 MAAC) face the No. 6 team in the MAAC on the road at Saint Peter’s (10-15, 8-8) on Thursday.