Stawovy, Gabauer trying to boost fortunes of West Virginia Wesleyan women’s basketball
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Though they are the same age, attended high school 11 miles apart and sometimes competed against each other, Brittany Stawovy (Greensburg Central Catholic) and Abi Gabauer (Norwin) were acquainted only by reputation.
That doesn’t mean they didn’t develop a bit of a rivalry.
“We used to read about each other in the newspaper, and it was like, ‘Oh, not this girl again,’ ” Stawovy said. “There was no hatred or dislike. Just a competitiveness.”
These days, the college juniors are fast friends, and they channel that competitiveness into elevating the West Virginia Wesleyan women’s basketball team.
Stawovy, who has started all 10 games this season, is second on the Bobcats (3-7, 1-5 Mountain East Conference) in scoring at 11.5 points. She leads the team with 32 assists and averages 5.0 rebounds per game. Gabauer averages 7.6 points and has made three starts.
“Brittany had a basketball IQ that was very high,” fourth-year coach Vicky Bullett said. “Abi will run through a wall for you. She has a lot of energy and just plays with a lot of heart.”
Theirs is a partnership that almost didn’t happen. Stawovy had one foot in the door at Pitt, where she planned to study occupational therapy and, perhaps, try to walk on with the basketball team. She had gone through orientation, had a dorm and even a student ID.
Bullett, meanwhile, had been trying to recruit Stawovy to her D-II program in Buckhannon, W.Va. But there were miscommunications that never allowed coach and player to connect.
As luck would have it, Stawovy’s father had worked with current Wesleyan volleyball coach Nancy Wheeler. Through that relationship, Bullett finally was able to lure Stawovy.
The rivals were now teammates, and in addition to suddenly having a common cause, they also had a common experience: getting out of their comfort zone on the court.
Stawovy came to Wesleyan with a reputation as a 3-point shooter. She wanted to develop her mid-range game as well as her ability to go to the basket.
“I remember telling coach that I didn’t want to be just a one-dimensional player,” Stawovy said. “I have been working hard to expand my game and expand what I can do. I am trying to make myself a little bit harder to defend.”
Gabauer, at 5-foot-11, played down low in high school and did so in her first two years with the Bobcats. But she often found herself playing away from the basket, and, she said, her slender build often made defending opposing post players difficult.
“This year, I decided to take on the ‘three’ position,” she said. “Knowing what we lost (to graduation) last year made me want to learn the ‘three.’
“There are a lot of big bodies in this league. So I just tried to open my horizons a little bit.”
With starting point guard Summer Matlack injured and out for the season and two freshmen in the starting lineup, Stawovy and Gabauer also have taken on bigger leadership roles. Bullett said that responsibility didn’t prove to be a burden.
“I don’t want Brittany or Abi to think their scoring is the only part of their leadership,” the coach said. “There are other intangibles. And it’s not pressure for them. It just comes naturally.”
With the pair settling into their new roles, they are hopeful of getting Wesleyan into the MEC Tournament. During their freshman season, the Bobcats didn’t qualify. Last season, they won their first-round game.
As the current lineup matures, Stawovy and Gabauer remain optimistic a deeper run is possible.
“We have so much potential on this team,” Gabauer said. “I absolutely believe once we play together and play as one, we can do it.”