Hopedale basketball star Bri Frongillo chasing 2,000
HOPEDALE, Mass. (BVM) — When Hopedale High girls’ basketball head coach Corey Phillips started coaching at the school four years ago, he noticed a quiet competitor in incoming guard Bri Frongillo.
“When I first got [to Hopedale], it kind of looked like isolation a little bit,” Phillips said. “During water breaks she would stay on the court, after practice she would stay and she would never really ask anybody to stay with her. To me, it looked like isolation. But as I’ve grown with her, [I’ve found] it’s more of an internal motivation, it’s not isolation.”
Joining the varsity team as an eighth grader, it wouldn’t take long for the Hopedale coach to notice what he had on the court in the young point guard.
“If you go to a gym, you’re going to see in about 12 seconds that she’s the best player in there,” Phillips said. “It doesn’t take long.”
With an always improving basketball skill-set, Frongillo believes her growth on the court has come on the leadership side of the game. As an eighth grader, finding her voice within a much older group was a difficult task. Now with four years of varsity experience, Frongillo believes she has gotten to the point where she can share her knowledge with her other teammates.
“I feel like I’m a lot more mature, a lot more experienced, and a lot more knowledgeable,” Frongillo said. “I know how to use those things to help lead my teammates, especially as a point guard. As an upperclassmen, people look to me for support or leadership and as a junior now, I feel ready to have that role.”
Last year, the Blue Raiders’ guard broke the 1,000-point mark in a game against Uxbridge, an achievement that she had been shooting for. With a shortened junior season underway, Frongillo isn’t letting that get in the way of her upcoming goals.
“That was really special, especially as a sophomore,” Frongillo said of her 1,000-point accomplishment. “I would like to hit 2,000 before graduating. Obviously, the shortened season makes that a lot harder… [but] I still feel that I can accomplish that. So we’ll see what happens.”
Video of Bri’s 1000th point! So exciting!! @hopedalejshs @HHSGirlsBball22 @HopedaleBooster pic.twitter.com/0RLkHjxyNf
— Hopedale Athletics (@HopedaleSports) January 30, 2020
The Hopedale junior’s hard work on the court has led to attention from multiple Division I programs. This fall, the Blue Raiders’ guard decided on where she wanted to continue her basketball future.
With interest from the University of New Hampshire and Holy Cross, Frongillo decided to take her talents to Bryant University. The program provided an early connection for Frongillo, who has been in contact with the school since she was 11 or 12 years old. It also allowed her to team up with former Bay State Jaguars teammate, Nicole Gallagher.
“I felt really comfortable with the coaching staff having known them since seventh grade,” Frongillo said. “They just really let me know that they wanted me and I just felt really comfortable with them.”
With her recruiting process kicking off as the pandemic heightened, the Hopedale junior is happy to have the process behind her.
“The process was kind of stressful, not being able to really visit those schools because [they] were closed,” Frongillo said. “I didn’t really get to talk in person with these coaching staffs. Ultimately, I committed and I made the best decision I thought for myself and I ended up in a good place and I was relieved to have that over with.”
Currently, Frongillo has helped lead the Blue Raiders off to a perfect 4-0 start after scoring 40 points in the teams’ most recent win over Douglas. She’ll look to build on to her already star-studded career this season.
