West Chester’s Maggie Pina, once an overlooked recruit, developed into a dual-sport athlete at Boston University

Maggie Pina envisioned herself as a Division I basketball player. From the age of 7, the West Chester native was involved in an organized league and would spend hours practicing with her brother and father at the gym. Her trajectory seemed right on pace with her goal.

But the summer before her junior year at Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, Pina was faced with a harsh reality, one that made her doubt herself as an athlete.

“My whole life has always been basketball. That has always been my main focus,” Pina said. “Then I got pretty discouraged. … A lot of my teammates were getting offers and interest in basketball, and I still wasn’t.”

She added that while she kept trying, she “definitely didn’t have the same work ethic or wasn’t in the gym as much” as years past.

Pina, now a senior at Boston University, ultimately accomplished her vision of being a collegiate basketball player. She’s also a dual-sport athlete, and this year walked on to the field hockey team, returning to a sport she played in high school and became more involved in after her basketball future seemed uncertain.

Pina has been a known sharpshooter since joining the Terriers (12-6, 7-0 Patriot League). The 5-foot-7 guard leads the team in three-pointers made this season with 34, contributing to a BU team that ranks first in the nation in three-point percentage (41.2%).

She also made the field hockey team in the spring of 2022, wanting to take advantage of her extra year of eligibility since she is planning to graduate early.

The journey that led her to Boston wasn’t easy. When considering two scholarship offers from different schools in different sports, it took confidence in her basketball game and a strong support system to make a decision on where to spend her collegiate years.

“All this ended up being more than I could have asked for,” Pina said. “My coaches were so supportive of me playing two sports. ... I’m very glad that this is where I ended up.”

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Throughout grade school, Pina also played lacrosse and field hockey. It was a way for her to stay in shape when basketball wasn’t in season. Pina’s game, though, completely changed during her freshman year at Archbishop Carroll.

She had Renie Shields, now a senior associate athletic director for player experience at St. Joseph’s, as a basketball and field hockey coach. She was the first coach who demanded the best from her.

“She never sugarcoated anything and would never let anything fly,” Pina said. “One of her favorite things was always saying, ‘Do exactly what you can do, nothing more, nothing less.’

“She just changed my viewpoint on basketball. Made my IQ so much better, physically pushed me to be the best I could be.”

Despite her development, Pina worried she wasn’t getting enough exposure. She played for the Chester County Wizards, an AAU program, the summer before her junior year, where she fought for playing time.

Her basketball friends started to receive college scholarship offers that summer. Pina, however, became concerned that she wouldn’t have a future in basketball with the lack of interest from programs. She then decided to transfer to Notre Dame, which has a top-notch field hockey team and plays in the same conference as nationally ranked Episcopal Academy.

“I always just assumed I’m not very good at field hockey,” Pina said. “But then some of the moms are like, ‘You don’t realize these girls are future Olympians, and you’re still on the field. You’re still keeping up. You may not be able to go to Michigan to play, but you could definitely go somewhere Division I for field hockey, if that’s what you want.’”

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Pina joined a field hockey travel team that year and put basketball on the back burner. With Notre Dame being less than three miles away from Villanova, Pina connected with Wildcats head coach Joanie Milhous and eventually was offered a scholarship.

“Just knowing I worked this hard and it still basically amounted to nothing was definitely very tough,” Pina said. “That probably is why I jumped as soon as I got the offer from Villanova. I just felt validated, like, yes, I am a Division I athlete. I put all this work in. This is my opportunity.”

In April of her junior year, Pina announced her commitment to Villanova for field hockey. However, basketball remained part of her life. She led Notre Dame in scoring her senior year and played on a different travel team.

She started to get recognized by BU’s program, which reached out in October of her senior year through then-head coach Marisa Moseley, now at Wisconsin, offering her a full ride. Pina came to an overwhelming choice between basketball and field hockey.

So she turned to Shields for advice.

“I had no doubt that she would be brutally honest with me, as she always had,” Pina said. “She helped me make that decision and also understanding my skill level. She understood where I would fall in the Patriot League and how I work in this system.”

At Boston University, Pina has surprised her basketball teammates and coaches with her athleticism.

Despite dealing with coaching changes and having off games when the shots don’t fall, Pina has developed a new love for the game — and the confidence to “shoot with no fear.”

“Very few people get to play a Division I sport, especially not at the same level at BU within the Patriot League,” Pina said. “Both our teams are always in contention for championships. I also was able to graduate early. I’m getting my master’s completely paid for, which, again, is an opportunity not many people have.”