“It was a different year, for sure, so it wasn’t exactly what I always imagined it to be, but I think that’s the nature of 2020,” said Barry, a native of Hingham who was the NEPSAC Female Athlete at the Globe 2019-20 the year.
“College is very different from high school for several reasons. The margins get much smaller because you are with and against the best every day. You can’t have days or moments off that you hang up. But at the same time, it forces you to level up and bring out the best in you. “
Prior to the opening of the South Carolina season against Georgia on September 20, Barry has not competed in an official football match since playing for the United States’ under-20 team in two friendlies last December. Also a basketball star and lacrosse player at Tabor, Barry spent the past spring training alone during quarantine to prepare for SEC football.
As soon as she arrived in Columbia, SC, in July for the preseason, Barry said that she started to find a rhythm through conditioning and group mini-exercises. A strong display in South Carolina’s 11-on-11 friendly games helped Barry gain an early nod as a real freshman.
“I came in with the mentality that I have to conquer that place every day,” said Barry. “I like to face the underdog [role], in a chip-on-the-shoulder way. I try to take this with me every time I go on the field. It took some time to be completely confident and to return to play after so long away.
“But deep down, it’s football. It’s what I’ve been doing all my life and it’s what I love to do. “
Barry scored his first two high school goals in the second game of the Gamecocks season, a 4-1 SEC home victory over Missouri on September 27. Your parents, Lauren and Christopher, and sister Caroline, a student from South Carolina, was present to share the special moment.
Barry also beat Kentucky 1-0 in the next game, winning the SEC’s Freshman of the Week title as a result. His fourth and final goal of the season came in the 3-2 victory over Missouri at the SEC Tournament, where the Gamecocks fell to Arkansas in the semifinals.
Now at home in Hingham for the winter holidays, Barry is preparing for the second half of the South Carolina season, which is scheduled to start in late February or early March, before the NCAA tournament.
“I’m back in preparation for another preseason,” said Barry. “We hope that we can challenge and win a spot in the NCAA Tournament.”
Starring roles
▪ Northwestern Senior Linebacker Blake Gallagher, a Raynham native and former St. Sebastian star, played a key role when the Wildcats captured the West Division of the Big Ten.
The 1.80m Gallagher with £ 228 tied with another linebacker Paddy Fisher with a total of 74 tackles for the team, while recording 9.5 loss tackles and a pair of bags. His efforts helped Northwestern reach a 6-1 record in the regular season and reach the Big Ten title game, a 22-10 loss in the 3rd state of Ohio, by 22-10. Northwestern, ranked 14th in the CFP ranking, is set to play Auburn at the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day in Gallagher’s last high school game.
▪ Also in Evansville, former star of Newton South Veronica Burton led the women’s basketball team from the Northwest to a 4-0 start and 15th place in the national ranking. A junior guard, the defensive player’s lieutenant of the year is producing the team’s highest score at 21.3 points per game, while kicking 56% off the ground (9 out of 18 out of 3 points) with 22 assists and 18 steals. Wildcats play in Nebraska on New Year’s Eve.
▪ With an average of 14.9 points per game, team leader and best of career, Braintree’s Brianna Herlihy boosted the women’s basketball team 7-1 Villanova, the only loss, 93-50, against third-placed Connecticut on December 22. Herlihy, in a six-foot red shirt, is only a year after tearing the ACL on his left knee against James Madison in the second game of the Wildcats season. The injury disrupted his hopes for a final season with his older sister, Bridget, then a veteran for the Wildcats. But Bridget is back this season, as a graduate assistant for the new coach and alumni Denise Dillon (’96) and Brianna was stellar in his return. At 29.9 minutes per game, she is also collecting 8.1 rebounds, has a team record of 16 blocks, along with 10 steals. Villanova receives Georgetown on Saturday.
