Gianna Santacroce was the final Southold ladies basketball participant to take her abilities to varsity again in 2021 — till her little sister, Francesca, simply dedicated to play for a similar college, Ave Maria.
“After I was being recruited and so they came upon that my sister performed there, they have been like, ‘Oh, we would like you right here one hundred pc. We would like this legacy to proceed,’ ” Francesca informed The Publish.
“They even requested, ‘Are there any youthful of you?’ ” added the senior star level guard on Greenport-Southold’s joint workforce.
Whereas Francesca is the youngest, athletic abilities are actually within the household blood past Gianna, who simply completed her 4 years on the court docket at Ave Maria final season as a small ahead.
Their older brother, Kevin, was a quarterback on Tempo College’s soccer workforce in 2016, and the eldest Santacroce sister, Melina, additionally performed hoops as a ahead for Misericordia College from 2019 to 2023.
“Rising up, enjoying collegiate sports activities, that was the expectation, that was the objective. … It felt like I needed to do it, but additionally like I wished to do it,” mentioned Francesca, who additionally performs soccer on the North Fork.
“I might exit and watch all their video games, regardless that I used to be youthful. We nonetheless exit and shoot round on the driveway collectively, regardless that everyone seems to be older. … My sisters and I simply gained an grownup league too.”
An enormous fork within the highway
Francesca mentioned being observed as a promising basketball participant on the east finish was an enormous problem.
and Melina. Santacroce household picture
She pressured that the small faculties east of the Lengthy Island Expressway — Greenport has simply over 300 children from seventh by means of twelfth grade — can turn into out of sight, out of thoughts for recruiters.
The ball-moving standout is the one senior on the mixed workforce from the 2 faculties and is one in every of solely 4 athletes at the moment dedicated from Southold.
“It takes about an hour to get to any coaching facility for basketball,” she mentioned.
“It’s a whole lot of dedication. … and lots of people aren’t capable of get a journey that they want or have the time of their day.”
Francesca’s dad and mom, Kevin and Linda, have been very happy to tug out all of the stops to make sure she was seen to high schools.
“They made so many sacrifices,” she mentioned, including that mother and pop drove her to and from faraway coaching periods and journey video games — together with forgoing winter household holidays.
“However whenever you get right here and get this second, it makes all of it price it.”
Double dribble
Gianna additionally struggled to discover a rhythm throughout her highschool tenure, bouncing amongst a number of aggressive faculties up-island earlier than in the end spending her senior season with the Porters.
“She was thrown into a extremely tough scenario. … It was exhausting for her, however she nonetheless made it out,” mentioned Francesca, who needs to main in enterprise, much like Gianna’s pursuit of a finance diploma.
“I at all times seemed as much as her as a result of she at all times took what she bought, and she or he gave it her all. … I’m simply so happy with her and the way far she’s made it.”
Gianna handed her psychological mindset all the way down to Francesca, who was lucky sufficient to start out on the identical varsity workforce all 4 years of highschool.
“We’ve totally different video games, however each have the identical psychological grit, competitiveness and eager to win,” Francesca mentioned.
“She was so excited that I’m going to the identical faculty as her, and I can’t look forward to the long run,” added the little sister, who dropped her first 30-point sport within the Porters’ 55-36 opening win over Miller Place.
There’s nonetheless another activity at hand earlier than altering uniforms in 2026, mentioned Francesca, who was on the Porters’ 2023 workforce that fell 41-33 within the Suffolk finals to Middle Moriches.
“I need to win a championship,” she mentioned. “I need to exit with a bang.”
