Harvard sophomore Abigail Wright stepped to the free-throw line at the Pizzitola Sports Center with all eyes and pressure on her. Late in the fourth quarter of the Ivy League championship game Saturday evening at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, the Newton North alum went through her recently changed — and more efficient — single-dribble routine and calmly sank both.
Though they weren’t the game’s final points, Wright’s free-throws gave the third-seeded Crimson the cushion they needed to knock off top-seeded Columbia 74-71 in the Ivy Madness championship game and clinch the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007. A No. 7 seed, Harvard (24-4, 11-3 Ivy League) will play Michigan State, a No. 10 seed, Saturday in Raleigh, North Carolina.
“Shooting pressure free-throws has been a huge, huge focus the past few weeks for the entire team, but for me, I hadn’t been making them,” Wright said. “I took it upon myself to change that. It was pretty powerful for me because I was feeling very confident, and that was something I’d been working on… knowing I’d be in situations like that.”
An athletic 6-foot-1 who makes an impact all over the court, Wright defines the modern positionless basketball prototype as a hybrid guard/forward combination. She may not have started a game this season for Harvard and did just three times as a freshman last year, but Wright provides quality minutes any time.
Wright plays a few minutes less per game than she did as a freshman last year, where she twice won the Ivy League’s Rookie of the Week award, but she is shooting a better percentage from the floor. Through 28 games this season, Wright averages 5.4 points and 3 rebounds across 13.5 minutes per game.
The psychology and economics student said she “really enjoys” coming off the bench. Wright notices the game’s trends and considers what she needs to bring whether it’s rebounding, scoring or just plain old physicality.
“There’s a power in being able to bring that spark and have an immediate impact,” Wright said. “I can shift the momentum.”
She scored 8 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in each of the Crimson’s Ivy League tournament games, playing 23 and 20 minutes. Harvard won by three in both, staving off a higher seed in each.
“This was earned by every minute, every possession, and every day that we were here,” Harvard coach Carrie Moore told reporters after the championship game. “It’s just such an incredible feeling to finally get to the top of the hill and be champions.”
The Wright family’s athletic prowess is multi-generational. Abigail’s mother, Ellen Devoe, played basketball at Princeton and is in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Her father, Don Wright, rowed at Yale. Her brother, Ethan, played basketball at Princeton and Colorado. And her late grandfather, John DeVoe, played basketball at Princeton and was the first president of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers.
At home at Newton North HS
Many players of Wright’s caliber head to prep schools at some point during their high school careers. Both Abigail and Ethan remained dedicated to Newton North. Abigail turned in a fantastic career in both basketball and volleyball for the Tigers, earning Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic honors her sophomore-junior years.
Wright considered transferring to Dexter Southfield in Brookline during her sophomore year. She opted to stay at Newton North so she could continue playing volleyball, and felt the recruiting looks garnered from strong play on the AAU circuit would suffice.
“For me it was more of a decision of not wanting to give up the high school experience that I cherished and that I’d put in the extra work to get where I wanted to go,” said Wright, who feels similarly about her Harvard decision. She loves having friends and family at every home game and many on the road.
Mo Hamel, Wright’s coach at Newton North, said she’s unsurprsied at Wright’s collegiate success. Hamel lauded Wright’s attitude towards the game and her teammates both on and off the court.
“She showed it through four years at Newton North where she made players around her better and raised the standard of work ethic and attitude,” Hamel said. “She chose to raise the standard rather than pursue it at a private school. So much of what Abigail did at North was a result of relentless effort, second and third chances, and a ‘next play’ mentality.”
She pointed to Wright’s late offensive rebound and late free-throws in the Ivy League title game as a perfect example.
“Abigail always has the best energy and cares about others around her,” said Jesus Rodriguez, who coached Wright from grades 3-12 with the MCW Starz AAU program.
Wright made an immediate impact with Harvard last year and plays a similar role as a sophomore. The Crimson needed to win the Ivy League Tournament to clinch a berth to the NCAA Tournament. Each conference tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the tournament, and the remainder of the field is selected by a committee as “at-large” bids. Had Harvard lost to Columbia, they’d be right on the precipice of an at-large bid but without a guarantee. Columbia and Princeton, the No. 3 seed, both received at-large bids.
Wright is pumped to help Harvard keep it going.
“We put so much work into this moment, this championship, and to see it all come to fruition is really incredible,” she said. “It’s really exciting to still be playing.”
