Vespa perfect fit for IHC greatness

Immaculate Heart Central couldn't have dreamed up a better player to lead it to the pinnacle of girls basketball than Marisa Vespa.

To put it simply, Vespa knew what it took to succeed. She loved to play. She loved to compete. She loved to win. She was made to be a point guard.

From that position, she catapulted the Cavaliers from years of mediocrity to two state championships, a 2002 Class D title her sophomore year and a 2004 Class C title her senior year. As a collegiate athlete, Vespa won a stack of awards, guiding William Smith College to success.

Years before she arrived on the Cavaliers varsity, IHC could see her coming. Part of a collection of athletes who played both basketball and soccer and were eventually nicknamed the "Fab Five," Vespa's positive personality came out on the court. She took charge. People couldn't help but listen to her. Her talent told the rest of the story.

As an IHC freshman in 2001, she led the Cavaliers to their first Frontier League title since 1982, their first Section 3 championship since 1975, and she reached the first of her four Times All-North teams.

As a sophomore, she helped the Cavaliers to the state title, the first state basketball title of any kind for any north country team. After the 58-38 title win over Batavia Notre Dame, she was named Class D MVP and to the all-state first team.

To cap her high school career, Vespa virtually willed IHC to the title, scoring a buzzer-beating layup in regulation and the game-winning layup in overtime with two seconds remaining in a Class C semifinal against Berne-Knox-Westerlo.

"I was thinking, 'I'm a senior, this could be my last game. I'm not going out like that," Vespa told the Times then. "'Let's do this,' that's all I was thinking. 'Let's do this.'"

In the final, she scored 17 points as IHC beat Haldane 49-35 for the championship and another state title.

IHC compiled an 85-16 record and three sectional titles during Vespa's stay after going 12-26 the two years before she arrived. She holds school marks for career points (1,669), assists (479), steals (531), 3-point field goals (131) and free-throw percentage (75 percent), as well as single-season records for points (503), assists (141), steals (181), free throws (148) and free-throw percentage (81 percent).

Vespa also helped IHC to a state soccer championship in 2002, winning All-North honors three times.

In college, Vespa enjoyed steady success at William Smith before a phenomenal senior season in 2007-08. By the time it was through, Vespa set single-season school marks in field-goal percentage and assists. William Smith reached the NCAA Division III Sweet 16. Vespa is the only player in the college's history to score more than 1,000 points and 500 assists for her career. She was named state women's basketball player of the year, Liberty League player of the year and Division III All-American.