When you go to the Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Gym at Emerson College to watch the women's basketball team, you're guaranteed to see fireworks when senior guard Bri Frongillo is on the court.

From the gaudy stats, the 1,000 career points, and the NEWMAC player of the year banners hanging up in the gym, it's impossible to ignore Frongillo's stamp on Emerson basketball. When her college sports career ends at the end of this semester, Frongillo will go down as one of the greatest players in the program's history. 

As her last full month of college basketball season wraps up this February, Frongillo sat down with The Beacon to reflect on her highlights and challenges, leading all the way back her first dribbles on the court in her hometown elementary school in Hopedale, Mass.

"My dad's a huge sports fan, so like most parents, he got his kids into sports," Frongillo said. "Playing from a young age naturally gravitated me towards basketball, and it helped that I was pretty good."

Frongillo's favorite players growing up were Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson and Dallas Wings star Arike Ogunbowale. Based on both guards' style of play that includes elite ball handling and isolation scoring, it's clear that she took inspiration from their games and applied it to her own.

Frongillo finished her high school basketball career as Hopedale's all-time leading scorer, with over 2,000 points scored, and an MIAA Division 5 state championship win as the cherry on top. To this day, she still looks at the moment fondly.

"That day was the definition of a core memory for me," she said. "Going out on top like that and becoming the all-time leading scorer was the best. I couldn't have gone out any better way."

Fronigillo wasn't originally slated to become an Emerson Lion coming out of high school. She first took her talents to Division 1 Bryant University in Rhode Island as a freshman. She later had her homecoming to Emerson during her sophomore year, making the change to be closer to family.

"I think if I had gone somewhere else I would've missed them really bad," she said. "They've been at every game I can remember. They're my biggest supporters." 

As a visual media arts production major, Emerson's film program was another draw for her transfer into Boston. Post-graduation, Frongillo hopes to go back to Los Angeles, where she spent most of her time last semester, and work in narrative film as a cinematographer.

Immediately after arriving at Emerson and joining the women's basketball team, Frongillo went straight to work, earning a reputation as an elite scorer. 

During her first season, she broke the school's scoring record with 40 points, although the game ended in a loss to Salve Regina University. By the end of the season, she was named to the All-NEWMAC first-team as a sophomore, leading the conference at 21.9 points per game, paired with 3.8 assists per game, the fourth most of all players. 

Still, she was far from done, giving fans just a taste of what she had in store for them over the next two seasons. 

As a junior, Frongillo broke her own scoring record, this time with a 44-point bomb against Coast Guard Academy, though this time resulting in a win. At the end of that season, she was named the NEWMAC player of the year for her efforts, leading the conference with 22.5 points per game and 5.2 assists per game. Frongillo led Emerson to the fourth seed in the NEWMAC, but lost to Salve Regina in the quarterfinals. 

While her final season isn't over yet, Frongillo has plenty of accomplishments already to celebrate this year. Before the season kicked off, she was named a pre-season All-American by D3Hoops.com, the first in the program's history. Then, during her season debut in December, Frongillo scored her 1,000th career point in a win against Western New England University, becoming the sixth woman to ever do so for Emerson.

To already be immortalized in Emerson basketball history on banner after banner is a surreal feeling for Frongillo, and it came sooner than she expected.

"My dad sent me a photo [of a banner] during one of the games this year, and I didn't even know they put those out yet," she said. "It's very special to me knowing that my name is always going to exist there and everybody else who plays after me in the gym can look up and see that."

One of Frongillo's teammates, junior center Claire English, had a simple way to describe her play on the court: motivated.

"There was one play where she got the rebound and just took it all the way down the court, coast to coast," English said. "Seeing moments like that during long games after running for so long makes you want to keep going and push through the struggle."

The motivation to play every second of every game to the fullest is evident in Frongillo's stats. She averages 38.3 minutes per game this season, the most in the NEWMAC, as a regular game lasts 40 minutes.

While on the court with Frongillo as the playmaker, English noted that despite her high scoring totals, Frongillo is always looking to assist her teammates.

"You always have to stay alert because she can make a pass to you at any moment, anywhere on the court," she said. "She recognizes we play our best and win when we have good ball movement, so she tries to make sure that everyone is involved on offense."

English, a Massachusetts native like Frongillo, played with her teammate on an Amateur Athletic Union team during the summer of 2024, offering them the chance to grow closer during the offseason. 

"We would drive over to the Dana Barros gym and get to play against some really great talents," English said. "It was nice to stay in touch with her, but to also increase our on-court chemistry while getting closer off the court."

The team frequently hosts team dinners with each other's families as a way to bond throughout the season.

"[Frongillo's] mom bakes for us all the time, so you really can feel that sense of family on and off the court with ourselves," English said. "I'm going to miss going over to her place after she graduates, but those bonds last forever."

The obvious end goal for Frongillo this season is to go out similarly as she did in high school, only this time, as a NEWMAC champion. But most importantly, she said she wants her teammates and other players to keep a positive mindset. 

"It's never going to feel good if you're not enjoying whatever you're doing," she said. "Put yourself in an environment where you'll enjoy the classes you take, the people you spend time with, and the career path you choose. Do what you love."