Alexa Barbush ’13 dominated the hardwood for the women’s basketball team and finished her career as a two-time All-American, one of just three players in program history to receive All-America recognition during multiple seasons. A three-time All-Centennial Conference selection, including first-team all-conference and all-region honors during her final two seasons, Barbush was named the Centennial Conference Player of the Year at the conclusion of the 2011-12 season. That was the same year in which she helped the Diplomats to back-to-back appearances in the semifinals of the Centennial Conference Tournament prior to being named a captain in her senior season.
Barbush was an immediate difference maker in the program, as she was a four-year starter for the Diplomats. Her first all-conference accolades came during her sophomore season when she led the team back to the playoffs under the guidance of then first-year head coach Kirsten Richter ’03. With Barbush leading the charge, the Diplomats continued to climb the Centennial Conference standings and had their best Centennial Conference record in program history during the 2011-12 campaign when Barbush was recognized as the conference’s player of the year. Barbush led the Diplomats to the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament that season with a 15-5 conference record as F&M totaled 18 wins overall. With their team leader averaging 16.2 points per game, the Diplomats had an early eight-game winning streak to get off to a great start and had won nine of their final 11 games in the regular season to lock up the No. 2 seed in their run to the Centennial Conference semifinals.
The scoring average only continued to climb for Barbush during her senior campaign, as she averaged 19.2 points per contest during her final season in Lancaster, a scoring mark that hadn’t been matched in the program’s Centennial Conference era and still ranks fourth all-time in program history. Aiding in her scoring totals was the fact that Barbush got to the free throw line more times than any other F&M player during each of her four seasons in Lancaster, as each of her four single-season free throw point totals are among the top 12 performances in program history.
Even while leading the team in scoring during her final three seasons, Barbush had the rare ability to make her teammates better and led the team in steals four times, assists twice and blocked shots once. In total, Barbush scored 1,486 points during her career and averaged 14.6 points per contest. She graduated as the second-ranked player in school history for free throws made (421), steals (338), minutes (3,166) and games started (101). The Diplomat star also left the program with top 10 marks in points, field goals made (530) and assists (264). Even after more than a decade after graduation, those records still stand among the best individuals in program history. Barbush still holds the school record with 105 steals during the 2010-11 season, a total that includes a single-game record nine steals against both York (Pa.) and Bryn Mawr. She additionally set single-game records for both free throws made (18) and attempted (22) during her senior season against Johns Hopkins.
Barbush graduated from Franklin & Marshall in 2013 with a degree in psychology but continued to stay involved with the sport she loved as an assistant coach in the Centennial Conference at Dickinson for a year. Barbush remains involved in basketball but now does so as a USA Basketball Licensed Trainer and part owner at Unleashed Potential in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Her passion for athletic enhancement and performance with that company has helped over 100 players achieve their goals of playing basketball at the collegiate level since Barbush became involved.
