Statistics never told the story about Lisa Lebak’s basketball career at Quinnipiac University.
The real story comes from Tricia Fabbri, who has coached the Bobcats for 18 seasons.
“Lisa saved her best basketball for her senior year,” Fabbri said. “In conference play, her assist-to-turnover ratio was phenomenal. Our point guard tandem was probably the most underrated tandem in the country.
“She was so knowledgeable about the game. She’s in the right spot on the floor defensively every time the ball moves. She’s a smart player. She came in well coached, she listened to what we had to say.”
High praise for a player who averaged 13.5 minutes and 2.4 points per game this past year. But according to Fabbri, Lebak was as important as anyone in helping Quinnipiac to its first trip to the NCAA tournament in school history.
For her career, the Robbinsville resident and former Peddie School standout never scored much. She averaged 4.2 points as a freshman but led the team in assists with 119.
“If we didn’t have her as a freshman, we wouldn’t have had a point guard,” Fabbri said.
More point guards came in, however, and as a sophomore and junior, Lebak averaged less than two points and two assists per game. Nonetheless, she was integral.
“Lisa always had a very important role on our team,” Fabbri said. “Minutes are misleading with the style we play. Her junior year we ran a three-headed monster at point guard, this year one got hurt, we had two there and Lisa helped anchor us.”
What made Lebak’s career so refreshing is that in a day and age when players come out of high school as stars and sulk when they are not college stars, Lebak took the team-first approach.
After leading a Peddie dynasty to incredible success during her four years in Hightstown, she had her pick of Division I schools to attend—schools where the coaches were willing to let her remain in the forefront.
“I could have picked a college where I would have had a much better chance of being a starter, but I chose the college that I felt had a more competitive program along with strong academics,” Lebak said. “Although I was a role player, I feel I made the right choice because, in the end, academics is why you go to college.
“Besides, being a role player on a good team is better than being a starter on a mediocre team. At the end of our season, Quinnipiac finished ranked seventh in the college mid-major Top 25 poll.”
And Lebak was there for the entire ride, from a so-so team to Northeast Conference powerhouse.
In her freshman season, the Bobcats went 12-8 overall and 7-11 in the NEC. Quinnipiac improved to 14-16 (11-7 NEC) her sophomore season, and last year blossomed to 22-10 (13-5 NEC) and reached the NEC semifinals before losing by three to Monmouth. That was enough for a berth in the WNIT, where Temple won a first-round game.
“Losing my junior year was a heartbreaking experience and something that shouldn’t have happened,” Lebak said. “One thing we learned as a team is that if you don’t stay focused, you will be going out early.
“Playing against Temple in the WNIT showed us how much harder we needed to work. Our coach talked to us after the game and said that (this) year is the year. She was right and we were able to make her dream and ours come true.”
The year didn’t start out too well, however, if you believe in omens. At the first-ever NEC women’s basketball media day last fall, the Bobcats were picked to win the conference title. That was not good news, going by history.
“Teams were picked in previous years to win the NEC, but at the end of the season they never actually won,” Lebak said. “Our team is very superstitious. As a team we addressed it and said that no matter what, we are always going to leave everything we’ve got out on the floor and let us decide our own fate.”
Lebak would be a central figure in how things unfolded, in so many different ways that didn’t show up in the boxscore.
“As a player my role was forever changing, but being a leader and a voice on the floor never changed,” Lisa said. “This year we did a five-in, five-out subbing system and my role was to be the senior leader and pick up where the other team left off or pick them up.”
The season was nothing short of remarkable for Quinnipiac. The Bobcats went 30-3, blew through the NEC with a 20-0 record and blitzed Bryant, Mount St. Mary’s and St. Francis by an average of 23 points in three NEC tournament games.
After edging Mount St. Mary’s, 63-56, in the semis, Quinnipiac beat St. Francis, 72-33, in the finals with Lebak hitting two big three-pointers in the first half to get the rout started.
“My coach said if we could make it past the second round, which would be our hardest game, than we would make it to NCAAs,” Lebak said. “With 18 years of experience she knew what to expect and she was right.
“Going into the final game there was a sense of calm with all of us, and I knew that we would win. Even though I felt we were going to win, in the end I was shocked by how much. Saint Francis is a great team. Unfortunately, for them, they faced us when we all were having a great day.”
The euphoria was intense for the players, who went where no other Bobcats went before.
“Going to the NCAAs meant the world to me and my team,” Lebak said. “It is something you dream about as a little girl and work for your whole life. Going to the NCAAs was a dream come true and being the first in Quinnipiac history made it even more special.”
Lebak found out just how special it all is during the lead-up to the tournament, when the public learned more about her team in a few days than many knew about it the previous three years.
“It was the most exciting time of my career and what I have been working for my whole life,” Lebak said. “We were treated like queens, and it was amazing. Quinnipiac made this experience something I will never forget.
“Playing in the game and on the big stage was surreal, and having my family there made it even better. My sister (Elon University golf star Lauren Lebak) is one of my biggest fans and has pushed me my whole life to be the best I can be, so to have her there made the experience even better.”
The only unfortunate part was the final result. The ride ended in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament when Maryland took a 72-52 victory. But Quinnipiac hung in for a half and only trailed 27-23 at intermission.
In those cases, however, the other team’s depth usually comes through in the second half.
“We gave them a good run in the first half and were up by nine at one point,” Lebak said. “But their bodies were too big for us to handle. Even though we didn’t win, it was a great experience and I also can say I played head to head against (two-time Atlantic Coast Conference MVP and WNBA prospect) Alyssa Thomas and recorded eight points, four rebounds and two steals.”
Nice numbers for a girl not known for numbers.
She was known for something equally important, though: toughness. Every team needs a player to set a tone with physical, hard-nosed play and Lebak, who looks like she belongs on the cover of a magazine, was one of those players.
“Lisa Lebak could be one of the most mentally and physically toughest players I ever coached, and I have coached my entire life,” Fabbri said. “I always say just don’t look at her size, this cute little blonde out there. She spits bullets. Don’t listen to her high pitched voice and that always bubbly, can-do personality.
“Lisa’s value was so integral. It allowed us to play at such an intense pace and provide pressure at both ends of the floor. Don’t be fooled by her looks. She’s a beautiful girl and an energetic, fun person to be around, but she’ll cut you off at the knees when it’s time to play.”
As she completes her scholastic basketball career, Lebak looks forward to playing a few rounds on the links with Lauren this summer (she actually played at Peddie) and wants to put her degree in health science studies (with a minor in marketing and psychology) to work. Lisa is interning and applying to physician’s assistant programs with the goal of being physician’s assistant in the emergency room.
In reflecting on her college career, Lebak is more convinced than ever she made the right choice.
“This year was an amazing ride with an amazing bunch of women and I couldn’t been luckier to have been a part of it,” she said. “If I were to do it all over again, I would do it the same way. I had an amazing four years at Quinnipiac, and met a lot of amazing people. I grew a lot over my four years and couldn’t be happier with how it all turned out.”
Not one to forget her roots, Lebak also wanted it known who helped her along the way, citing Robbinsville rec and CYO coaches Pat Fallon and Peter Hays, Pond Road Middle School coaches Penny Vaccarino and Karen DeRossett and Peddie coach Sean Casey “for their encouragement and guidance.”
“The past four years,” she said, “wouldn’t have been possible without them.”
And according to Fabbri, Quinnipiac’s success this year wouldn’t have been possible without Lisa Lebak.
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