It is not often that a Division III student-athlete gets a shot at playing professionally. But former St. Joseph’s College (Long Island) women’s basketball’s Andrea Iavarone has defied the odds.
The program’s all-time leading scorer signed a professional contract with ZKK Plamen Pozega of Croatia last month, bringing Ivarone’s dream of hitting a pro hardwood one step closer to reality, per sjcgoldeneagles.com.
But Iavarone’s journey to the pro ranks hit a snag in the road when she tore her ACL last July, requiring surgery to repair the injury. It forced the six-foot forward to forgo the pro contract she inked with a French team at the time.
However, that did not extinguish the business major’s steadfast determination to prove she can shine on a pro court. Iavarone played 29 minutes in the season opener at the beginning of October and posted a double-double of ten points and ten rebounds.
Iavarone attended SJC from 2014 to 2018 and amassed a program-best 1,510 career points.
Additionally, the Miller Place, NY, native holds team records in rebounds (420) and field goal percentage in a single season (53.9%), and boards in a single game (27) during her four-year stay at SJC (LI).
— Jerry Del Priore
Photo: SJC LI Athletics
NY NJ Sports World/Brooklyn Sports World 