The La Salle women’s basketball team has done well as a landing spot for transfers

Three La Salle women basketball players have navigated the ins and outs of the ever-changing transfer system over their careers — some seeking a better fit and others with a desire to play in a better league. All have reaped benefits from transferring.

“Why stay where you’re unhappy?” senior forward Gabby Crawford said. “I don’t really feel like people look at the bright side of it because it could be literally draining on you mentally.”

Crawford, who became eligible to play last spring semester, and guard Charity Shears, a graduate student, are recent transfers who have hit challenges along the way before finding a home at La Salle.

Shears had been incredibly close to her twin sister, Payton, for as long as she can remember. The pair played basketball together through AAU and at West Virginia State, and any spectator could see a twin connection in any given game.

“On the court, you could tell,” Shears said with a laugh.

Shears did not expect to transfer to take advantage of her extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic, as she was performing well. At the end of last season, she ranked second in the Mountain East Conference in free-throw percentage (.816). She holds the school’s career three-point record.

“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go far away from home,” said Shears, who is from Ashland, Ky. “I’ve never been away from family like I am now, but they made me really comfortable, and it felt at home here.”

Said La Salle coach Mountain MacGillivray: “Charity is exactly who we thought she was. She’s fitting in great with the group.”

In the last year, Shears said she has learned: “Don’t let things off the court affect you on the court.” Her roommate, Crawford, came to a point last year when she had to embrace that as well.

The 6-foot-2 forward from Memphis saw the court at four colleges and universities, starting at Alabama out of high school. Crawford stayed for summer training and transferred to Ole Miss.

“It was weird for me because I’m very big on having a bond with coaches. I really took that hard,” she said.

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Since then, Crawford had been on the quest to find a connection. She couldn’t find it at Ole Miss, but she did at Morehead State. Crawford sat out for a year because of NCAA transfer rules, but it helped her grow. In her junior year, she led the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 12.3 points and 8.7 rebounds.

It was short-lived, as the coaching staff left at the end of that season. Crawford and MacGillivray talked on the phone for almost an hour and a half, hardly touching on basketball. This was a first for Crawford when interacting with a coach.

Last year, Crawford lost her father and grandfather, and her mother has been sick recently.

“Last year was probably the most adversity I faced, even though I’ve bounced around,” Crawford said. “Last year was probably the hardest for me having to show up every day.”

During that time, she leaned on her teammates and MacGillivray for support.

Guard Molly Masciantonio, a graduate student who transferred to La Salle from Holy Family three years ago, is glad to be part of a program that she describes as family-oriented and supportive.

Masciantonio’s mother was diagnosed with cancer a year and a half ago. “I’m playing for my mom this year,” she said with emotion.

MacGillivray made the comparison to non-athlete college students who can transfer to another school and not have to sit out from band, choir, student government, etc., for a year. His question is: Why is it when it comes to sports there is an issue?

“I don’t think it’s as dramatic as people make the whole thing out to be,” he said. “It’s a reality. Less student-athletes transfer than general students. We can just leave it at that.

“Go where you want to go.”

MacGillivray explained that the transfer portal is not a marketplace where La Salle will necessarily find a lot of success.

“My goal is that we’re bringing in four-year and two-year kids who are finishing it out here,” he said. “We don’t have room to bring in any transfers on a regular basis.”

Crawford is grateful for the opportunity here.

“Everybody takes different routes to get where they want to be,” Crawford said. “I don’t really look at it as a negative because I feel like I’ve grown as a person and matured throughout the whole process. I’m really confident with the decisions I’ve made, and I finally made decisions for me and not for anyone else. I can say I’m truly happy.”