Last Saturday the Marist women’s team beat St. Peter’s by 39 PTS in the MAAC tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Red Foxes only lost 3 games all year by a combined 14 PTS en route to claiming the school’s 1st NCAA tourney bid since they made 9 in a row from 2006-2014. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Sarah Barcello about being a good scorer and making the NCAA tourney.
You were born/raised in Arizona: what made you choose Marist? They have an amazing team: I met my future teammates and they were unbelievable. The combination of athletics and academics is also great.
You play for Coach Brian Giorgis: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He knows how to win. I have learned a lot from him because he has been around the game for so long: he is an unbelievable coach.
You played in 33 games as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I was playing behind someone who got injured. I had some amazing senior leaders who took me under their wing and taught me the system.
You finished that year by making the MAAC All-Championship team: where does that 30-PT loss to Quinnipiac rank among the most devastating losses of your career? That is up there, for sure. It has added fuel to the fire for the championship that we just won.
You led your team with 12.9 PPG this year: what is the key to being a good scorer? Great teammates. Allie Best is a phenomenal PG and I would not be getting the ball without her. You just have to get open and make shots.
What is it like to be a college basketball player during a pandemic? It has definitely been challenging because it is not normal. Having good people around me is what helped me get through it.
Last Saturday in the MAAC tourney title game you had 9 PTS/4 STL in a 39-PT win over St. Peter’s: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It was unbelievable! I have never had that experience before in college so it showed that our hard work had paid off. We were throwing water on our coach in the locker room and were so happy.
You lost 3 games all year by a combined 14 PTS: how close did you come to going undefeated?! We were definitely close. It was a goal that we tried to reach but all that matters is winning a title.
You missed a few games earlier this year with a foot injury: how is your health doing at the moment? I am hanging in there.
How do you feel about being a 15-seed? I had heard rumors that we would be a 14-seed but we are just happy to be in the tourney and hope to make some noise.