Catching Up With Abby Freeman '20

She hopes that her remaining seasons will be more of the latter and none of the former.

 

Following her 2020 graduation from Collegiate, Abby headed to Bridgewater College, a Division III signatory in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, with dreams of taking her talent and team-first mindset to the next level.

 

A 5-9 guard, she had been a linchpin in the Cougars’ program with impressive four-season statistics (1,007 career points, 537 rebounds, 250 assists) and multiple All-League of Independent Schools and All-VISAA honors. As a senior co-captain on a 16-11 squad that reached the LIS semifinals and state quarterfinals, she averaged 13 points, six rebounds, three assist, and two steals per game as the point guard.

 

That said, she knew the task of earning the opportunity she so desired wouldn’t come easily. All she wanted was a chance to prove herself. Then came a series of factors beyond her control.

 

First, there was the Covid shutdown her freshman year, which limited the Eagles to individual work with their coaches, very little team play, and four games at the end of a very strange season.

 

Then, there was the torn right ACL compounded by meniscus damage which she suffered that first year while shooting a routine left-handed layup during an intra-squad scrimmage and which would require major surgery and 15 months of rehab before she was cleared to play again.

 

Then, there was the arrival of Stephanie Flamini, Bridgewater’s third head coach in three years. While Abby had to prove herself yet again, Flamini’s presence ultimately provided a bright ray of light for her and her teammates.

 

This past season, the Eagles finished 20-6 and reached the ODAC semifinals for the first time in a decade. Abby, academically a junior but, in fact, a college basketball rookie with three years of eligibility left, played in every game, worked her way into the starting lineup midway through the year, averaged 7.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, contributed 23 assists, and recorded seven steals and four blocks.

 

She hit double figures eight times, including 15 against national runner-up Christopher Newport and 20 (plus 10 rebounds) against Lynchburg. A health and exercise science major who plans to be a physical therapist, she earned a spot in Bridgewater’s chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma for her high athletic and academic achievement as well as on the ODAC All-Academic team.

 

One day recently on a visit to her alma mater to work out, she spoke of her journey and her inner strength that enabled her to navigate its trials and tribulations.

 

I tried to deny it, but I got the scans, and they confirmed what I was thinking. My rehab was long. I did physical therapy for seven or eight months. From there, I did my own workouts to build up the muscles in my leg. I didn’t start really playing basketball until a year and three months after I’d done it. Even then, I still wasn’t up to my full capacity.

It was a mental game, to be honest. That was the hardest part, actually: having confidence that I could play the way I had. My knee was fully recovered, but I was still worried about hurting it again and playing at my full speed and full potential. Every day, I kept trying to strengthen my knee. It was a day-by-day kind of thing.

 

Oh, for sure. I look at injuries very differently now. I take the basics very seriously now: all the behind-the-scenes work like strength training that you have to do.

 

I had to start from the bottom again almost as if I was a freshman. From the start, I was kind of thrown a curve ball. My coach wanted me to play a post/small forward instead of guard. I’d played guard at Collegiate and AAU, so being a post was very different, but it was what she needed, and I was a decent size to do both.

 

In the beginning, it was tricky playing offense and defense on taller and bigger people.  At the beginning of the season, I was playing nervous because I didn’t want to make mistakes.  As the season went on, I got better and better and ended up playing a lot more minutes and putting points on the board and making defensive plays. It wasn’t always about scoring points. It was about playing team basketball and getting the win. With five people on the floor, it’s hard for everyone to score, but you can do a lot of other things to be effective.

 

CNU was one of our best games. When you play tough competition, it usually makes you step up. I’ve never been afraid to play people who are ranked higher than us or known to be better than us. Those are the most exciting games.

You have to have confidence in yourself, especially in your shot, and make good decisions. I’m not afraid to pull up on a girl that’s taller than me or shoot when I’m wide open. Some people will get nervous to shoot it. I had all the confidence in the world that I would make it. You also have to be aggressive and not afraid of contact. Being aggressive has never been a problem for me.

 

For me to take the next step, I need to work on my speed and getting back to my guard tendencies and also adding to my post game. She (Flamini) said she was looking at me being a post player (again), but I want to come back and show her that I can be both. Depending on who we’re playing, I can pop out and be a guard or be a post if need-be. Now that I have the experience, I have to use both (skill sets) to my advantage.

~Weldon Bradshaw