BRUNSWICK — Coming from a small town on an Indian reservation near the Canadian border in upstate New York, student athlete Abby Kelly was looking for a school with similar traits. She wanted to continue to play basketball at a high level, while receiving a top-notch education.

The 5-foot-8 guard, who scored over 1,300 points in three years at Salmon River (New York), had options, but it was the “culture” of Bowdoin College basketball that drew the Polar Bear senior to the Brunswick campus.

“I think what sold me over the other schools was team culture. The positive energy and the welcoming of the women on the team, it was incredible,” Kelly said. “Since the day I got here, it hasn’t let me down. I think I am one of the most fortunate people in the whole world to be playing on this team.”

Bowdoin heads to Salem, Virginia to play in the NCAA Division III Women’s Final Four for the second straight year, facing off with St. Thomas Friday evening at 5 p.m.

Bowdoin wasn’t always on her radar, and at first she really wasn’t really interested in the school.

“I had never heard of Bowdoin until a coach of mine that had graduated from here talked about it,” Kelly, who also scored 954 points in two years at Kimball Union (N.H.) prep school, said.

From that moment, Kelly knew Bowdoin was the place to be.

“After my coach brought me to a camp here and I met the girls on the team, witnessing the competitive level of play. I thought this may be something special,” Kelly said. “And looking at the other NESCAC schools, this is obviously a great school and a great academic school.”

It appears she made the right choice. In four seasons, the Bombay, New York, native has played in 118 games, starting all 31 this year. She has averaged 10.4 points per game throughout her career, including leading the team this year with a 14.8 average. She ranked in the top 10 in the NESCAC in points, 3-pointers, field goal percentage and steals this winter. She saw double-figures in 23 of 27 games and surpassed the 1,000-point mark on Jan. 19 against rival Colby. Her 1,224 points rank seventh at Bowdoin and her 139 treys are fifth in program history.

And just this past week, the senior was named the Northeast Region Player of the Year by D3hoops.com and First Team NEWBA.

Entering her final weekend in a Bowdoin uniform, the talented 2019 NESCAC Player of the Year has had plenty to reflect on over the past four years.

“I have made so many best friends over the years while playing my favorite sport,” Kelly said. “I’m playing my favorite sport in a big part of my life with some of the best people I’ve ever met. Over the last few years, with Lydia (Caputi), Kate (Kerrigan) and Lauren (Petit) last year, Shannon Brady my freshman year and the five seniors my sophomore year, just lifelong relationships.”

Like the other seniors (Taylor Choate, Hannah Graham and Cordelia Stewart) on this year’s squad have done, Kelly credits former players and teammates that have helped her navigate her four years at Bowdoin.

“It’s amazing, the day us freshman stepped foot on this campus, we learned what the Bowdoin basketball culture is all about. It’s changed a little, but it’s pretty much consistent throughout,” Kelly said. “And that comes from all of the former players, including Coach Meg (Phelps). It seems like yesterday I was a first-year and looking up to players like Shannon. Now, I know underclassmen are looking up to us. When an underclassmen tells me that they look forward to practice, it almost brings tears to my eyes. It shows we’re making a difference.”

“To see all four seniors act as mentors to the younger players, whether through our formal mentoring system (each senior paired with a first year), or just in practice, they hold each other accountable to high standards, and I often see them on the baseline during drills explaining things to younger players,” assistant coach and former Polar Bear player Megan Phelps said. “This kind of tradition is what inspires the next generation of leaders. Having experienced being a player on the Bowdoin women’s basketball team, I find it extra special to witness these women that I never played with continuing to build a legacy and leave their own mark on the program that gave me so much.”

And the underclassmen appreciate Kelly’s presence.

“I look up to her on and off the court, her work ethic is amazing,” said sophomore guard Moira Train. “We’re both guards so we guard each other at practice and see lot of each other. She’s always giving me constructive criticism on how to get better. She makes everyone around her be accountable.”

While there have been ups and downs with basketball over the last four years, Kelly reflects in a mature manner, realizing not only has she developed as a player, but her teammates, a.k.a. her “basketball family,” have been right by her side and have grown with her.

“I’ve grown the best way I could have grown. I am not sure I would have had this kind of experience anywhere else,” Kelly said. “Everyone is so different and brings a special piece of the puzzle to our team. They have pushed me and challenged me, as I’ve done with them.

“I think competing with them every day for four years, and having meetings with them, tears, laughter, joy and everything in between, I can’t believe I won’t be seeing them every day. That’s a bond that Bowdoin has brought for us. That’s a bond that will never be broken.”

Coach Shibles

Not only has her basketball family helped frame this young student/athlete, Kelly also gives props to the coach who recruited her.

“My relationship with Coach (Adrienne Shibles) has been incredible and has definitely grown over the years as we’ve developed trust,” the history and education major said. “She’s our biggest fan on and off the court, she’s an advocate for us and cares about each of us.”

As Kelly mentions, a lot of talented players come to the team after being a star in high school, and Shibles really helps them adapt to that.

“When she’s recruiting, she really does care and I think that’s important to the athlete and her family,” the tri-captain said. “She talks about the culture at Bowdoin and helps us buy into it, she builds relationships with us.”

And Shibles understands that it takes a special kind of student/athlete, along with time to build those relationships.

“The type of people they are, in which the manner they were raised, their parents are amazing people, but I think building trust takes time and some consistency,” Shibles said. “Showing young people that you care about them as people first, and that’s something Meg, Steve (Shea) and I really try to do. It’s important to us that they know they are more than just basketball players to us.”

Shibles acknowledged that they are more than just basketball players.

“They’re really dear to my heart. Every day I come into work I feel grateful to have earned their trust, which is a process with young people as it takes time,” the 2019 NESCAC Coach of the Year said of her seniors.

But it was Kelly’s passion and desire that drew Shibles.

“Her passion to compete is unrivaled, she is just a fiery competitor and as a coach, you love to have someone like that in your corner, rather than on the other team,” Shibles said. “It’s great to have someone like her down the stretch in games, just to get your team ignited when they need that spark.

“There are a ton of things I’m going to miss about Abby, but her passion to compete is really special.”

“While I’ve only been witness to two years of her career, I know Abby has grown tremendously in just those two,” Phelps added. “She’s a fiery competitor who has high standards for herself. It’s been incredible to see the growth she has had as a leader — her voice is consistently heard, and she always fires her teammates up.”

Career coming to a close

When this weekend is complete, it will mark the end of Kelly’s basketball career. But it’s not the end of the friendships she has created.

“I can’t believe I’m a senior. It’s hard to believe the four of us are in this position,” Kelly said. “I’m going to look back and say these were easily the best four years of my life, playing some of the best basketball in the country, with some of the best people, I am absolutely blessed.”

And Kelly will miss life at Bowdoin and all that comes with it.

“The small school feel in general,” Kelly said about what she’ll miss.

“I’ve learned a lot from a lot of different people from various places and backgrounds. I love to take the time to talk to other people, especially when I’m supposed to be doing homework,” chuckled Kelly. “I have developed so many relationships with all kinds of people. I’m going to miss all of that comfort that I’ve come to find here.”

But before all of that, the Polar Bears have some unfinished business. After losing to Amherst in the final a year ago, Kelly and her teammates are looking forward to this weekend in Salem, Virginia.

“Going into this for the second time, there’s a fire lit underneath us,” the senior said. “We were so close last year. We’ve put in the work every day since coming back from spring break last year. We want it so bad, I can’t think of doing this with anyone else. I trust them so much and have confidence in them.”

While Kelly understands that comforts of already attending a “Final Four” and its festivities, she is also well aware of the rewards that lie ahead.

“I think it’s kind of comforting to know what we need to go through, but at the same time, let’s change this a little for a better outcome,” Kelly added. “This time next week, we’re either national champs or we’re not, and that comes down to our habits and the things we’ve worked on to get to this point.”

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.