Hoops standout Santacroce to attend Ave Maria University

It wasn’t just the opportunity to play for the women’s basketball team that convinced Greenport/Southold High School standout Francesca Santacroce to attend Ave Maria University; she fell in love with the school.

Santacroce, who had whittled down her choice to DeSales University in Pennsylvania and Ave Maria, said that her decision went beyond athletics.

“Just through talking with the coaches and taking a look at the school for itself beyond basketball was definitely a big factor for me,” she said last week. “The school at Ave Maria, it’s beautiful. It’s got so many extracurriculars that I can be a part of. It’s got such a big community life outside of basketball that I loved. If basketball doesn’t work out, or I don’t want to continue playing, I want to love my college for itself, and I really loved it all.”

There were other factors involved.

Santacroce’s older sister Gianna, a 2021 Southold High graduate and Greenport star, attended Ave Maria. Well before it was time to decide the next level of her basketball career, Francesca got an opportunity to see the university up close when she visited her sister.

“I fell in love with the school through watching her play for four years,” she said. “She brought me to class, so I got to get a little inside look at everything. I really got the best experience when I visited her, because I already knew so much about it. But the funny thing was, the coach that coached her for the four years left. So getting on the team was a little bit harder because it was a new coach. He didn’t know me, and he didn’t know Gianna. That was a bit of a challenge. But through a lot of talking, I went down for an official visit, and I played in front of him, and he gave me an offer.”

Santacroce, who will attend the school on athletic and academic scholarships, said that she plans to major in business.

It certainly helped that Santacroce has a 97 grade-point average.

“Balancing the life of a student-athlete is difficult, but with the right preparation, motivation and time management skills, it can be done,” she said. “I have a little planner, and I write everything I need to do for the day. On maybe a Wednesday night, I don’t have practice, so I’m going to get a bunch of homework done. Or, I have a big game coming up, so I need to get ahead on homework. Just making sure you plan ahead and be organized.”

After averaging 12.4 points a game as a junior, the 5-foot-9 senior will lead the Porters this season as team captain, as the lone senior. Greenport is scheduled to open its season with a non-league game at Miller Place on Tuesday, Dec. 2, at 4:30 p.m. The Settlers will welcome Shoreham-Wading River in another non-league affair on Monday, Dec. 8, at 6:15 p.m., before hosting Mattituck in a Suffolk County League VII contest on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 5:45 p.m.

Santacroce has led by example.

“Just leading in practice, leading the stretches and warm-ups and stuff like that,” Santacroce said. “But also being the person that does the right thing all the time and showing girls that there’s always a step more you can do. The girls were getting a water break. I went to the foul line and shot two foul shots after we were running sprints. Just to be a good example for the younger girls.”

Porters’ head coach Ev Corwin felt that Santacroce’s experience and leadership were invaluable.

“Basketball’s always been her passion,” he said. “As a coach, that’s all you can ask for. I never had to worry about her working hard. She’s always thinking about basketball. She’s grown in every aspect, because that’s her sport, that’s what she focuses on. I don’t think it showed up in the stats as much last year, but it’s because I think the situation was where she was playing with young girls, first time playing major roles, and she was the main person.

“But I think that helped her too, because she didn’t fall to pieces,” Corwin added. “She has a good support system at home. I just think it’s going to make her even better this year, because last year was frustrating for her. I just think mentally, she deserves so much credit for the way she handled it.”