By Josh Perry, Managing Editor
When former Attleboro High coach Missy Traversi was introduced as the new head of the women’s basketball program at Wheelock College, she immediately jumped into the recruiting process with an eye on strengthening the Wildcats roster. Wheelock jumped from five to 11 wins in her first season.
Meanwhile, one Traversi’s former captains at Attleboro, Bri Hochwarter, was going through a second frustrating season at UMass Dartmouth. Hochwarter, who suffered a pair of knee injuries in high school but was “healthy and ready to go” once she got to college, had been searching for playing time with the Corsairs and was looking for a change of scenery.
Traversi had known Hochwarter from youth camps, AAU, and with the Bombardiers. She knew the quality of player and teammate that she would be getting and offered the junior guard a fresh start with the Wildcats.
She explained, “Bri is one of the toughest, most resilient, hard-nosed kids I’ve ever coached and she continues to demonstrate that at the collegiate level.”
The change has proved fruitful at the start of this season. Wheelock enters its winter break at 5-2 and having won three straight games. Hochwarter has started six of the seven games and is averaging a team-high 32.4 minutes per game. She has taken advantage of her time on the court to average more than 13 points per game and knock down 40 percent of her shots from three-point range.
Most importantly, Hochwarter has found a place where she knows her role on the team, is trusted on the court, and is happy.
“I wanted to play for someone that I knew,” she said, “and that I can trust to be honest with me. I knew that Missy would be upfront about my situation.”
Hochwarter’s talent was obvious from the start in high school. During her first two seasons, the Bombardiers struggled to win but she averaged more than 10 points per game and was widely considered the team’s best player. With the announcement of Traversi as the new coach heading into Hochwarter’s junior season, good things seemed on the horizon for Attleboro.
Then injury problems struck. Hochwarter tore her ACL in the summer before her junior season and it cost her almost the entire year. Then, just as her senior season began, her high school career was abruptly cut short by another knee injury that left her on the bench, suited up for every game but unable to play.
Hochwarter became like a second coach beside Traversi, cheering on teammates and reiterating Traversi’s message. That Bombardiers team made a huge leap and landed in the postseason.
“It was such a struggle because I never really got to play for her at Attleboro,” said Hochwarter. “She’s a great coach…but it was tough to watch the team play every night from the bench.”
Despite the knee injuries, Hochwarter was given a chance to join former North Attleboro star (and HockomockSports.com Player of the Year) Meg Ronaghan at UMass Dartmouth. The two had become fast friends after playing together in AAU. It seemed like a golden opportunity for the now healthy shooting guard to turn the on- and off-court chemistry with her good friend into success for the Corsairs.
Instead, she struggled to get on the court, while her friend excelled. There was no bitterness in her voice when talking about Ronaghan’s success on the court, but rather confusion wondering why she was not able to share it. Hochwarter reflected, “We had a good chemistry going into college, so I was surprised that we didn’t get out there together more.”
After two seasons of frustration, she started exploring her options and reached out to her friend (“the only person on the team who knew about my desire to leave”) for support.
“Honestly she probably was the best support system I had, besides my parents,” said Hochwarter. “[Meg] said, Bri you came to college to play basketball and I’ll support you no matter what; I want to see you on the court.”
She also reached out to her former coach, spending time on the phone or sitting down in person in Attleboro. She talked about what was going on, about her frustrations, and took the opportunity to vent and figure out what she wanted. When Hochwarter decided to officially sign the paperwork announcing her desire to leave UMass Dartmouth, Traversi indicated her interest in taking her former player to Wheelock and began the recruiting process.
Traversi explained, “When I found out she was transferring I was elated because one of our biggest issues last year was shooting, three-point shooting particularly. Bringing someone of that caliber in, I knew she would have an immediate impact.”
“Nothing was guaranteed to me,” Hochwarter said. “I knew that I was going to have to work to see time on the court, but it just felt like the perfect situation.”
Traversi remembered meeting Hochwarter at a seventh grade clinic and being instantly impressed by her skill set and then watched up close as Hochwarter worked so hard to rehab from both knee injuries. She added, “That kid’s family to me.”
Hochwarter has scored in double digits in all but the opening two games this season. She shot 6-12 from three and dropped 20 points against Becker College. She scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds in a one-point loss to highly ranked Regis College and then followed that with 21 points (5-11 from three) to beat Fisher.
This is what she had expected from her college career.
“Things are going really well,” Hochwarter said. “I’m so excited. It’s awesome and I can’t wait to see what this year brings.”
That excitement is shared by her coach. Traversi said, “She’s shown these Wheelock players that if you put in the work then you will see results. That winning attitude is definitely contagious.”
The Wildcats (5-2) will return to game action on Jan. 6 against Bay Path College.
Josh Perry can be contacted at JoshPerry@hockomocksports.com and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.