In the 2022-23 season, true freshman Abigail Rodriguez has been Fairleigh Dickinson University’s shining star. Initially, she committed to the Devils for softball, however due to their lack of depth on the basketball team she was asked to suit up. In Woodbridge, Rodriguez was quite the high school prospect, recording two-time all-conference and division honors, not to mention she earned eight different varsity letters her senior year. Ultimately, the most significant selling point in committing to the Devils was that her mother graduated from FDU and she wanted to continue the legacy.
Saturday afternoon, Rodriguez lived up to the hype and played a phenomenal game. Although they suffered a disappointing loss to the Lycoming Warriors, 78-32, Rodriguez stood out, scoring 23 of the Devils' 32 points. She finished the game with 23 points on an injured right knee. Throughout the game, she was often doubled and tripled, forcing her to make quick decisions and causing costly turnovers. However, she admits as a true freshman, she’s still learning and will continue to do so in order to help this team improve.
“I never focus on me, I’m always focusing on the team and how I can make us better,” Rodriguez stated after the game.
Preparing to Play Against Abigail Rodriguez
Some understand how dynamic and explosive Rodriguez can be when given opportunities to do so on the court, therefore making it difficult for opposing coaches to gameplan around her. After the game, Warriors HC Christen Ditzler had very high praise for Rodriguez and admitted it’s difficult to game plan for prolific scorers like Abigail.
Going into Saturday’s game, Rodriguez was averaging 13.5 points. However, she nearly doubled that against a tough Warrior’s defense this past weekend.
“It's funny because we've played teams now that they have prolific scorers like this that help their team go,” Ditzler expressed in the post-game interview. “When you're playing someone like that, you can’t possibly think you’ll limit their points, it's not going to happen.”
During pivotal moments of the game, the Warriors successfully trapped Rodgriguez and forced key turnovers. They often double-teamed her off pick and rolls and on inbound plays to limit her access to getting downhill to the paint.
“[We] don’t want her to have her best day, however we try to always make it tough on scores like Abby,” Ditzler continued.
Rodriguez’s Impact on the Devils
As a true freshman, Rodriguez is taking on a heavy burden, and many recognize that and appreciate her efforts that much more. Willingly, joining a team that had one player at the time and understanding her role would be maximized in this system is an extreme burden to take on. However, Devils women’s head coach, Van Johnson, believes she’s growing and becoming a better player and leader with every game.
“She grew up a lot today, she’s been scoring, however today she found ways to be effective while utilizing her teammates and finding innovative ways to score,” Johnson stated.
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