Junior Luciana Picasso has had great success on the basketball court, leading to her nomination as the Miami Herald’s Player of the Week.

“I feel proud of myself for being nominated player of the week but it simply reminds me that competition only gets more intense, and in order to keep succeeding I need to push myself harder in practice,” Picasso said.

She has been playing basketball since 5th grade when her P.E. coach encouraged her to try out for the power forward position because of her height.

“I actually never had a huge drive to play initially but once I started I loved it,” Picasso said.

A typical weekly basketball practice schedule at the school consists of practices Monday through Saturday which lasts around 2 hours and typically has at least 1 game a week. 

Picasso admitted that being a student athlete can be a big commitment, but she has never really struggled to maintain the balance between basketball and academics until this year, due to the added stress of the SAT.

“I think it’s a challenge especially when practice or games run late because then I start homework and studying late but in the end it’s worth it and you get used to it,” Picasso said.

While she has undoubtedly had much success in her highschool basketball career thus far, she is undecided about playing college ball.

“Playing basketball in college is something I’m not so sure about because I’d prefer to focus on my academics, however I’m still open minded about the idea of it,” Picasso said.

Like all sports, basketball has a competitive aspect, but she professes her love for the competitive edge it brings.

“The basketball community is a competitive one no matter what school you play at and it can be aggressive at times but that’s what makes it fun and challenging,” Picasso said.

While the community is that of a competitive one, it can also be the breeding ground of long-lasting friendships.

“Everyone on the team supports one another and always makes sure to include everyone in team bonding,” Picasso said. “A lot of my favorite memories at Lourdes are simply from hanging out in the locker room with my team before practice.”

She mentions another integral member of the team that also deserves recognition for their athletic accomplishments over the years. 

“My coach makes sure to bring out the best in us, and while he may seem serious, we know he always has our best interests at heart,” Picasso said. “He is a great speaker and teaches us lessons we can apply not only on the court but off the court as well.”

Picasso credits the girls’ close bonds with one another and her coach’s guidance to their team’s success on the court, as well as her own. 

“My favorite thing about basketball is building relationships during practice with my teammates and coach and then being able to take that chemistry and execute plays correctly during the games,” Picasso said.

While there isn’t necessarily a specific professional player she looks up to, she finds inspiration in many different players who are a bit closer to home as well as those making great strides in women’s sports.

“A bunch of Lourdes alumni are great players I look up to who come back and practice with us and additional women I admire are those who put their best foot forward in supporting women’s sports like the retired professional basketball player, Ruth Riley,” Picasso said.

She has a passion and strong work ethic which she sees as a large benefiting factor to how well she performs and encourages others seeking success on the court to follow suit.

“One piece of advice I’d give to someone who wants to play basketball is to put your heart in everything you do, whether it is practice or games because you can coach different skill sets but you can’t coach someone to care about the game, so be competitive and have fun with it,” Picasso said.