A Special Bond Pelaia sisters share recruiting trail, help each other through hectic process
MARS — Bella Pelaia and her younger sister Kaitlyn have a lot in common.
They're both tall — Bella is a hair under 6-foot while Kaitlyn is 5-10.
“She's catching up to me, though,” Bella said of Kaitlyn, who will only be a sophomore at Mars this fall.
They're both tenacious on the court and studious off of it.
Bella has a 4.48 GPA.
Kaitlyn comes in at a 4.42.
“Kaitlyn is a crazy-good student,” Bella said. “She's a reader. She'll read anything.”
The sisters on the Mars girls basketball team also have another thing in common.
They're both being heavily recruited by colleges clamoring for their services someday.
For Bella, the process is in full swing.
“It's super exciting now,” said Bella, who turned in a stellar junior campaign this past winter, averaging 14 points and nine rebounds per game for the Planets. “At first it was nerve-racking and a little overwhelming.”
Now Bella is having fun with it.
She's made numerous college visits already to schools such at St. Bonaventure, Mount St. Mary's, West Point and most recently Western Carolina.
The trips haven't been easy, either, for Bella.
“The hardest part about it is finding the time,” she said. “We have AAU tournaments every weekend and high school stuff is starting.”
But once on the trip, Bella finds them enjoyable.
Not just seeing the campuses, but also the time she gets to spend with her father, David.
“To be honest it's good bonding time with him,” Bella said. “All the school visits are different from each other.”
Bella said she is inching closer to making a decision. A player for the Western PA Bruins AAU team, she has received two Division I offers.
Mars girls basketball coach Dana Petruska is not surprised by the interest in Bella.
“(Monday) was the first time seeing her playing since the season ended — we're in a summer league,” Petruska said. “She looks good. Just her skills and maturity. She looks great.”
Bella is only 150 points shy of 1,000 in her career.
For Kaitlyn, the recruiting process is really just starting.
Blessed with raw ability and a knack on the defensive end, Kaitlyn recently became a hot name on a lot of college coach's lists.
Slippery Rock University has already made an offer to Kaitlyn.
At first, Kaitlyn didn't believe the offer from Mars graduate and Slippery Rock University head women's basketball coach Bobby McGraw was legit.“She thought he was joking,” Petruska said.Strangely, before the recruiting process started for her, she had no designs on playing college baskeball.That changed when she started getting looks.“It was like, 'Wow,'” Kaitlyn said. “It was shocking. I didn't even think about playing in college. I was focusing on school and academics. I thought that was going to be my path.”It has completely changed her outlook on the sport and her future in it.“I'm definitely working a lot harder, trying to make myself a better player,” she said. “I'm taking it a lot more seriously.”Petruska said once Kaitlyn gets on the court, her personality changes.“She's like two different people on and off the court,” Petruska said. “Off the court she's very cute and feminine and very unassuming. On the court, she turns into a beast.”When the recruiting started, Kaitlyn said she was also overwhelmed.It helped having Bella by her side.“She asked me, 'What do I do?'” Bella said. “I just told her that at first she was going to be stressed out about it and to just stay calm. Enjoy it. It is super fun.”The sisters also have a healthy sibling rivalry.They can often be found in the basement lifting weights or at the nearby community center playing one-on-one.Bella crows about her success against her sister. But also makes sure to point out how tough it is to go up against her younger sibling.“I have to say me. I get the better of things,” Bella said, chuckling. “She gives me a hard time because she's such a great defender. She likes to hit me a lot and sometimes it gets heated.“Our dad will get mad sometimes and threaten to leave and make us walk home,” Bella said, laughing. “But he never follows through on that.”Kaitlyn chuckles and agrees. “Yeah. Everything she said.”While their father helps with the basketball, their mother, Jennifer, is the stickler when it comes to academics.“Our mom really installs and emphasizes that,” Bella said. “We get our academic drive from her and our basketball drive from our dad.”Both have made the Pelaia sisters top prizes for college recruiters.“It's pretty cool to share the experience with her,” Bella said.
