Pucci brings the Thunder

Tia Pucci is the undisputed leader of the Blessed Trinity Thunder varsity girls basketball team.

“She might not score the most points on the scoresheet but I have never seen a girl work harder than she does. She is a great kid and a great leader,” said BT head coach John Cino Tuesday, after his team recorded a 50-38 victory over the Saint Michael Mustangs in Niagara Catholic Athletic Association action. “She has taken over this team and it is clear who our leader is. We don’t have a captain but she would be it.”

The 17-year-old clearly relishes the role.

“I have been playing on this team since Grade 9 and I know we have a lot of young girls. I want to help everyone so we can go far and have a good time,” the Grade 12 student said. “I feel stepping up as a leader is super important and I am honoured to be in that position.

We have a lot of potential and I hope we can pull it all together.”

Pucci’s leadership extends to all her teammates on and off the court.

“She is vocal enough but at the right times and she is very encouraging. We have one Grade 9 and couple of Grade 10s and she has been very positive and encouraging to them when they get down,” Cino said. “Off the court, she has created a group chat for them and during school they all interact. It is stuff like that outside the basketball court that makes her great.”

Pucci netted 11 points in Tuesday’s win but that was only part of her contribution.

“We need her on the court and I feel so much more comfortable when she is on the court,” Cino said. “She plays great defence and you see her diving all over the floor.”

The best description of Pucci, who has played with the Blessed Sacrament and Niagara Juel teams but this year is suiting up for the Niagara Falls Red Raiders under-19 squad coached by Mark Federinko, is relentless.

“I am aggressive, very alert and I am very defensive,” the 5-foot-6 (maybe) guard said.

It is her last year of high school and she would love to play at the next level if the opportunity presents itself.

‘If I could play post secondary that would be awesome, but ultimately academics are most important.”

She is hoping to study health science or medical science with the goal of having a career in medicine.

She is delighted to be back on the court after a one-year absence.

“It was gone too long. It was really hard to train and not have anything to play for. I am glad I stuck with it and it is so rewarding to be back.

“I had the mentality it would come back one day and sure enough it did. I just pushed, pushed, pushed and now we are here.”

The Thunder pushed their record to 4-1 on the season and Cino is more than happy with how his team is shaping up.

“First of all, they are a great bunch of girls and it is so nice to be back playing,” he said. “The girls are awesome but unfortunately we only had 16 girls try out for both teams and only one Grade 9 student so we only have one team.”

That situation is not without challenges.

“We kept everybody so we have a lot of numbers and it makes it hard sometimes to get everybody into the game,” he said. “I feel bad but they understand. The seniors have worked hard to get to this point and I think we maybe have a chance to go to SOSSA (Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association championships).”

Not only does BT have numbers but they also have depth.

“We can go nine deep at time and that’s nice,” Cino said.

Saint Michael fell to 1-4 with the loss but head coach Vince Barbatano, who is in his first year at Saint Michael after coaching senior and junior girls at Notre Dame for a decade, likes what he sees from his squad.

“We have a really good, athletic team and a good mixture of Grade 12s and 11s,” he said. “They play really, really hard.”

Barbatano was impressed by his team’s press in the second half that help his squad get back in the game before the Thunder finished with a flurry.

“Defensively we are doing a decent job this year but offensively that is still in the works. We are still trying to figure that out and be our best.”

Saint Michael came out of the COVID pause in good shape with plenty of athletes trying out and enough players to field both junior and senior squads.

“A lot of kids were excited to get back into sports and we’re all happy that activities are continuing at the school,” he said. “We are building for next year.”

STATS PACK

Thunder 50 Mustangs 38

BPSN Player of the Game: BT’s Maggie Vukojev with 16 points.

For the Blessed Trinity Thunder: Vukojev 16; Tia Pucci 11; Maddie Smukovic 6; Kaelin Sutor 6; Sophia Cino 6; Lucy Whaling 3; Brianna Davis 2.

For the Saint Michael Mustangs: Zylyn Leyritana 18; Marianela Irwin 8; Jaime Manlow 5; Sydney Carter 4.