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04/08/2016 12:00 AMSabrina LeMere has been a three-sport star throughout her four years at North Branford High School, having seen the varsity field for the T-Birds’ field hockey, basketball, and softball teams since her freshman year. Sabrina has had quite the impact with all three squads, but she’s made her biggest impact on the basketball court and set the school record for career points with 1,398 in her final game as a Thunderbird.
“That moment was incredible. I have never been so happy besides the night I achieved my actual 1,000th point. It was breathtaking,” says Sabrina, who scored a career-high 32 points in setting the record during North Branford’s State Tournament game against Notre Dame-Fairfield. “It was even more incredible because I never thought I could do it. I worked so hard for so many years and to end my high school career with a game like this was absolutely amazing. I was sad that we lost the actual game because I didn’t want my season to be over, but I was so grateful that my career did end on such a high.”
Sabrina, a point guard, saw her production go up each and every year that she competed for the T-Birds. She scored 221 points in her freshman season and then had 322 as a sophomore, after which Sabrina scored 410 and 445 points in her junior and senior years, respectively.
“Since I was a freshman, I have improved on all of my basketball skills. I have so much more ball control while dribbling and am able to maneuver through opponents even faster than I could as freshman. My passes are a lot more accurate and precise and my shooting percentage has increased drastically,” Sabrina says. “My sophomore year, I changed the way I shot to make it more accurate and since then it has worked extremely well. I used to shoot super low, so I brought that a little higher and I learned to keep my elbow in through the entire shot every time I took one. Also, I started to exaggerate my follow through and that created more accuracy.”
Sabrina was a captain for North Branford’s field hockey and basketball teams in her current senior year. Sabrina says it meant a lot to her to attain that distinction with both clubs because she likes having the extra pressure placed upon her.
“I have always been a leader on and off the court. Being given the opportunity to be a captain was a huge goal for me and to receive that goal was incredible. It means so much to me being named captain because it made me feel that all my hard work and effort really paid off,” says Sabrina. “People say that captain is just a title, which is true, but when you are as involved in athletics as I am, it is an extremely important title that you work hard to earn. I loved being captain. It is an important role and I was pleased to take on the challenge.”
Sabrina says that she’s already decided to play basketball next year at Division III Eastern Connecticut State University under longtime Head Coach Denise Bierly. It was a difficult choice for Sabrina, who narrowed her selection down to Eastern and Springfield College, but in the end, she felt the Warriors were the better fit.
“I loved both schools and it was such a hard decision, but I knew in my gut that Eastern was the school I needed to choose. I loved everything about it. They had my major [physical education and health], the campus is beautiful, and the team was great when I stayed over,” says Sabrina. “The thing that stood out the most, though, was the coach’s interest. She was always contacting me and was always keeping up with what I was doing and that for me was the most-important thing.”
North Branford girls’ basketball Head Coach Chris Webster feels that replacing a player of Sabrina’s caliber is virtually impossible and believes her scoring record will stick for quite some time. Webster knows that athletes like Sabrina don’t come around too often.
“She’s excellent in everything,” says Webster. “She’s a terrific athlete and a hard worker. You don’t find that all the time.”
As the spring season begins, Sabrina is hoping to see a repeat of what the T-Birds achieved last year, when they won the Shoreline Conference title. Sabrina, who holds the all-important defensive role of catcher, was the squad’s Offensive MVP with a .506 batting average to go along with a team-best 45 hits, 34 runs, 45 RBI, and six home runs.
“I have always been a powerful hitter and have had a passion for being up to the plate. I love having the pressure of being up at bat and having that pressure makes me want to hit it even harder,” says Sabrina. “I have always loved to catch because the catcher is the one who calls the game. I love being the leader on the field and that is exactly what the catcher is.”
There aren’t many athletes who can excel in everything like Sabrina LeMere has through the past four years. Sabrina feels that the passion that she plays with is one of the biggest reasons why she’s experienced so much success.
“Every time I am on either a field or court, whether it’s practice or a game, I always give 100 percent and I am always trying to get better for myself and my team. Even when there wasn’t a scheduled practice, I would do things on my own just to make myself a better player,” says Sabrina. “I love everything that I do and my passion is what makes me the athlete that I am today. I was blessed with a natural athletic ability that I am extremely thankful for and that has become a huge part of who I am.”