Ever since they were born, the Messina twins have been surrounded by one sport and one sport only, basketball. Gianna and Catriana were born into a basketball family.
Both their dad and brothers played.
“Our two older brothers played basketball, and our dad played in high school and college, so we’ve kind of grown up around basketball in general,” said Catriana. “When we were born our dad gave us a basketball at the hospital. So, basically it’s always been around us.”
Although always surrounded by the game, it took some time before the sisters collaborated on the court.
“Well, I don’t think we ever played on a team until we were eight but like she [Catriana] said we grew up around it,” Gianna said. “Our parents never really forced us to play so it was like we came to it in our own side.”
The sisters have been playing well together lately with Gianna shooting the best she has all season and Catriana becoming a great part of this 18-2 season.
Both sisters agreed that Catriana was the better player when they were young.
“I would beat her on everything,” said Catriana. “I was always the star and then the roles got reversed when we got to college and high school.”
There was a point where the sisters decided to go to different colleges, but the love for the game brought them back together.
Gianna was first recruited by the University of South Florida to play basketball there, while Catriana had her mind already set to become a Spartan.
During her freshman year at USF, Gianna saw action in 29 games, starting 10 of them.
“Obviously USF is in the Big East which is the best conference in Basketball for women, and actually for men too,” said Gianna. “That was one of the reasons [for going there]. I thought it would be a good opportunity and had a good balance between academics and athletics.”
After USF gave off more of a business vibe to the game that she loved, she realized that Divsion II basketball was a better fit for her.
“I just thought of all those arrows pointing at the direction to come here,” Gianna said.
Meanwhile, Catriana was starting to make a mark at UT.
“I got recruited by a few other schools. But I never really wanted to leave Tampa so it was either go to USF and not play basketball or come here and play,” she said. “But, I wanted to play and I liked the campus experience and the educational program. I don’t know, it felt like it was the perfect fit too, everything I wanted to do in one package.”
The sisters have great chemistry both on and off the court and people are starting to take notice.
Prior to their last game against Florida Tech, Catriana had 23 assists in the past four games, 12 of which had come on baskets by her sister.
In the game against Barry, they combined for a total of 37 points including 11 three-pointers leading the team to a 63-39 victory.
“I think when we were in high school we were a little bit more competitive just because there is a whole recruiting process and we were trying to get scholarships or whatever,” said Catriana.
Gianna agreed that they play together better at UT.
“Yeah, we’re definitely more collaborative in college and when I’m on the bench I want her to play the best she can play, when she’s on the bench she’s my biggest fan too,” said Gianna.
The twins will not settle with the performance they are having thus far.
They know their game can get better and they keep working hard with the team and listening to their coaches.
The UT women’s basketball team is having a successful season and the Messina twins are adding double to that.
Arturo Uzcategui can be reached at juzcategui.gomez@ut.edu.