Cranberry Township, Vincentian hoop star shining brightly as freshman for Pitt women
PITTSBURGH — From WPIAL Class A high school to Atlantic Coast Conference college basketball?
Quite a jump, indeed.
And Brenna Wise appears to have stuck it.
The Vincentian Academy graduate and Cranberry Township resident is starting as a true freshman at the University of Pittsburgh. She's playing guard and forward, leads the team in rebounds and is third in assists, has hit seven treys and is third in blocked shots.
“I play whatever position they need me at for a given game,” Wise said. “It all depends on the opponent and I'm fine with that.”
Wise has been playing guard and forward for the Panthers, who are 8-7 through 15 games with a starting lineup of three sophomores and two freshmen.
Wise is serving as the wild-card in that lineup, if you will.
“Eventually, she will settle into our No. 3 spot,” Panthers coach Suzie McConnell-Serio said. “Having Brenna play so many roles right now as such a young player is challenging to her, but we wouldn't do it if we didn't think she could handle it.”
Wise handled a whole lot in high school, scoring 2,331 points, collecting more than 1,000 rebounds, being named two-time PIAA Player of the Year and maintaining a 5.0 grade point average. She will major in business administration in college.
McConnell-Serio believes Wise can handle a whole lot when it comes to Pitt women's basketball — like become the face of the program.
“We've actually talked to her about being the face of the program,” the coach said. “She is the complete package. She is our hardest worker. She is our best student.
“She's great with the media because she says all of the right things. Brenna has a magnetic personality. She's a natural leader because adults and kids all enjoy being around her.”
Wise has reached double figures in scoring in six straight games, including a season-high 15 points in Thursday night's 79-55 loss at Miami (Fla). She leads all ACC freshmen in scoring with a 9.4 points per game average and her 16 rebounds recently against Notre Dame matched Duke's Azura Stevens for the most rebounds in a game by an ACC player this year.
Wise slept with a basketball every night in high school and she's still doing so in college.
“I do it because it reminds me of where my focus is right now,” Wise said. “I don't do it on road trips, though ... The other players might poke fun at me.”
Wise has been nothing to laugh about on the court.She is shooting 67 percent at the foul line and leads the Panthers in free throws made and attempted. Her 40 offensive rebounds easily lead the team and she's averaging 7.1 rebounds per game.“I won't say I came here expecting to start right away, but I was hoping to play some,” Wise said. “Every role on the team, starter or bench, is important and I just wanted to contribute.“The way it's worked out, being part of such a young lineup, we're maturing, growing and learning together. It's exciting.”Pitt's starting five — freshman forward Kalista Walters, sophomore forward Yacine Diop, sophomore forward Stasha Carey, sophomore guard Aysia Bugg and Wise — has accounted for 79 percent of Pitt's scoring so far this year.“I'm very excited about our future here,” McConnell-Serio said. “The competitiveness, passion and talent we're showing on the floor is very encouraging. But realistically, we have a long way to go. We're making mistakes along the way and that's going to happen.“In high school, Brenna was a post player who was the ultimate helper. She always ran at the ball to help a teammate. If she does that here and gets out of our rotation, we get exploited.”Wise admits to being “the biggest girl on the floor in high school.” Now, she says “everyone out there is my size.”But she's loving the big stage.“In high school you play a handful of truly big games a year,” she said. “Here, every game we play is a big game. You're challenged and pushed physically and mentally every game. That's been the biggest adjustment for me.”In the end, Wise and McConnell-Serio have a mutual admiration.“Coach Suzie is one of the biggest reasons I'm here,” Wise said. “She's succeeded at every level of this game. She's one of the greatest women's basketball players ever and I'm honored to play for her.”McConnell-Serio always figured Wise would stick that jump from small high school to major college ball.“Am I surprised she's doing what she's doing? No. Not one bit,” she said. “This is only the start for her.”
