Penguin recruit is Eagles standout

HERSHEY, Pa. -- Barbora Fabianova is coming to Youngstown, and she'll be wearing gold.
A native of Slovak Rebublic, Fabianova helped the Kennedy Christian High girls basketball team capture its first state championship Saturday at Hersheypark Arena.
The Golden Eagles defeated Pottsville Nativity BVM 48-46.
Now, Coach Ed DiGregorio hopes the 6-foot Fabianova can work that same magic at Youngstown State.
The Penguins were the first team to pursue Fabianova since she came to the United States last year. She signed her letter of intent last Nov. 27.
Fabianova's strength is her versatility -- she can slash to the basket or drain 3-pointers -- and her experience.
Veteran player: Fabianova played in the Youth Olympic Games in Moscow in 1998 and was a four-year member of the Slovak Junior National Team.
Saturday, on her way to scoring a game-high 19 points with nine rebounds, Fabianova was taunted and booed by Nativity fans, who rained chants of "USA! USA!"
Fabianova never appeared rattled and instead remained focused.
"I heard them when I was shooting my foul shots," Fabianova said. "It's just sad that people can't take that somebody [not from here] can be better," she said. "I was like, 'OK, keep yelling, I'm going to play my game.' "
With the score tied 46-46 and nine seconds remaining, Fabianova came through in the clutch for the Golden Eagles.
"Barbora is such an outstanding ball handler and passer," Kennedy Christian's coach, Father Rick Tomasone, said. "I thought, if we could get the ball into her hands, something good would happen."
Tomasone was right.
Taking an inbound pass from senior Maureen Meier, Fabianova spotted teammate Erin Frankovich down low.
Fabianova made the pass and Frankovich made the game-winning basket with three seconds remaining.
"When push came to shove, she made the pass and Erin made the layup, and we're going home with the gold," Tomasone said.
Fabianova said she chose Youngstown State because of the friendliness of the coaching staff, the large Youngstown community of Slovaks and the short distance across the state border, which won't allow her to separate from friends in the western Pennsylvania area.
"This was my first year and I won a gold medal," Fabianova said.
Somewhere, DiGregorio and the Penguins are smiling.
Fitting way to end: Fabianova is moving on, and so is Tomasone.
Tomasone was informed by the bishop of the diocese that he would be reassigned to St. John the Baptist in Erie.
It took his 16th and final season at Kennedy Christian before he directed the girls basketball team to a state title.
"I feel as though I've been a winner just to be associated with these kids," Tomasone said. "This is like icing on the cake.
"We never made an issue about this being my last year," he said. "The issue was them, and those girls stepped up and played well."
Tomasone didn't want to think about how the reassignment would affect his future in basketball.
"I'll have to deal with that later," he said. "Right now, I just want to enjoy the heck out of this moment."
Won it for coach: As satisfying as it was for Tomasone to leave as a winner, it was just as satisfying for his players to honor their coach.
"We knew Father had never been to Hershey before [coaching a team]," senior Maureen Meier said.
"It was just one of our goals along the ladder -- we won Mercer County, then District 10, the western [finals] and then this," she said.
"We wanted to send him to Erie with a gold medal. He has it now."
XBrian Richesson covers high school sports for The Vindicator.