With her palms sweaty and heart racing, she focused on staying calm and doing what she does best. Dribbling the ball in her hand, she ran across the court, passing everyone, and with each precise step she took, she goes up for the layout shot and leaves the ball going into the basket.

Sophomore Angelica Cirineo walked into the Varsity Girls Basketball tryouts, ready for anything.  After a successful three days of tryouts, Cirineo instantly felt that this season would be like no other.

“I’ve been playing basketball ever since fifth grade, and realized it was just the perfect sport for me,” Cirineo said. “Once I made the team at Fairview South, I pushed myself into doing club basketball. I first started playing at Extreme Intensity, then I moved on to play at Full Package.”

What initially started Cirineo’s journey in basketball was her inspiring family.

“The main people who influenced me to play in the first place was my brother Mark Cirineo, and my dad. They both previously played basketball and were quite good at it,” Cirineo said.

Before trying out for the Varsity Girls basketball team, Cirineo as a freshman was on the Junior Varsity team along with two other freshmen.

“When I first found out I made the Junior Varsity team I was so excited, I knew it was also going to be a great experience for me because it meant that I could be pulled up for next year to be on Varsity,” Cirineo said.

Teammate and senior Donya Richter describes Cirineo’s attitude on and off the court as someone who’s determined to execute the proper technique and showcase her skills throughout games and practices. Richter has known Cirineo since before her freshman year as she played for the Niles West Girls Feeder basketball team. Richter had previously seen how well of an athlete Cirineo was simply based on the way she played and knew there was something different about her from other athletes.

“Angelica’s a really cool player and person. She’s one of two sophomores on the Varsity team and gets quite a bit of playing time, and honestly she deserves it,” Richter said. “At a first glance she might seem quiet but once you get to know Angelica, you understand that she’s so focused all the time as she puts so much thought and effort into what she does anytime.”

Cirineo has played a key role in many of the Varsity Girl’s basketball games. As a sophomore, she was in the starting line-up for each game and continues to score around ten to twenty points per game.

“Angelica’s a really good shooting guard and scores very well. She’s a great asset to the team as she typically scores anywhere from around twelve to twenty points a game,” teammate and sophomore Sami Lipsit said. “She’s always focused which makes her such an amazing player and her being a sophomore and excelling on the team is even cooler.”

Without Cirineo’s talents, many games this season wouldn’t have ended the way they did without her.

“When she goes in the game she knows that she needs to shoot, she’s a really good three-point shooter and has been one of our top scorers in the games,” Richter said. “Our team probably wouldn’t be where we are without her.”

With the season still moving forward, Cirineo can be found in the contest gym shooting her shots from the three-point line as they each go perfectly into the basket. Nothing can stop this scoring machine from seizing the moment and taking control of the game.