Keira Pierini is a strong, confident player in this, her junior season as she leads the Robbinsville High girls basketball team in scoring, rebounding and steals.
But it wasn’t always this way.
Pierini won’t soon forget her debut as a starter with the Robbinsville High varsity girls basketball team.
As a freshman she swung from JV to varsity and came off the bench in the Ravens first six games to put up decent numbers. But when Reagan Robinson – a huge contributor – went down with a knee injury, Pierini was forced into her first starting nod against Hopewell Valley.
“That was very nerve-wracking, very stressful,” she said with a laugh. “I was kind of in panic mode in that scenario.”
In the end, however, it all worked out.
“I remember it was a close game and I believe we won (they did, 45-41),” Pierini said. “ I was able to get through it. My main goal was just to play good defense and not turn the ball over.”
Coach Justin Schmid recalled that, “Kiera was maybe not quite ready. She had to start playing in January as a starter because Reagan went down but once she got comfortable she really took off. She’s a great athlete.”
Pierini finished her freshman year averaging four points per game and she was second on the team with 108 rebounds. Last year she was second on the Ravens in scoring average (7.1) and rebounding average (5.5).
She missed the season’s final six games – including a state tournament contest — due to a sprained ankle she suffered in a Colonial Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinal against Ewing.
“I was going up for the drive and landed on my ankle wrong . . . I made the layup though,” she said proudly. “It was definitely frustrating. That was one of my best games. I had a high of 15 points going into the second half.”
This season the blueprint was for Pierini to again be the complementary scorer for senior Ava Aldarelli, who scored 1,158 points in just three seasons. But during an AAU game in July, on a non-contact play, Aldarelli went down with a torn ACL and would miss the season.
Suddenly, Pierini was the Ravens top scoring option.
“Last year she was Robin to Ava’s Batman,” Schmid said. “Now it was like ‘All right, you gotta be Batman.’ She hasn’t shied away.”
Through Robbinsville’s 5-8 start Pierini was averaging nearly 11 points per game and with 67 rebounds was tied for the team lead with freshman Alexa Boss, who was becoming the new Robin. Pierini also had 29 steals and her 31 assists were second to sophomore Madison Griffin.
She had a career-high 28 points against North Brunswick but has been more than just an offensive force.
“She does it on both ends,” Schmid said. “She didn’t score against Hightstown but she knew that didn’t matter, it was ‘Let’s just limit (high-scoring Hayley) DeKok the best we can,’ and she did a great job to limit her.
“She’s also a leader. We’re trying to get the girls to come together. It’s different friend groups and she’s really been working on that. When Keira stopped doing field hockey (she does lacrosse in the spring) she wanted to focus on basketball a little more.”
Thus, Pierini got a job working Sundays at Inner Drive Hoops in Robbinsville. She trains players from ages 5-12, helping them with basic basketball skills.
“I love the little kids, they’re my favorite,” she said.
In an effort to help her own game, Pierini goes into work early and shoot up to 200 shots a day on the foul shooting machine.
“I have to give a shout-out to someone I worked with,” she said. “His name is Frank Moore (an assistant coach for the Mercer County Community College women’s team). He helped me with my form a lot.”
Schmid noted that, “I know he was real happy when he saw her score those 28 points.”
Entering the season, Pierini knew she had to up her game with Aldarelli being out. But she wasn’t fretting over it.
“I honestly saw it as more of an opportunity,” she said. “It was more of a way for our team to work together and I think we’ve been doing that. I felt a little bit of pressure but I just went into it trying to have fun and having a good season with my team.”
On the offensive end, Pierini has a variety of ways to score. She possesses a nice turnaround jumper in the paint, she’s second on the team to Griffin in 3-pointers with 13, and she can penetrate.
“The reason I think she’s scoring more is she’s looking to drive more and not just settle for the mid-range jumper,” Schmid said. “She’s added that to her game.”
Pierini felt she began penetrating more last season before she got hurt, “and this year it just came more to me.”
She feels her biggest improvement since entering Robbinsville is her floor presence.
“I think going into basketball in high school I wasn’t really outgoing,” Pierini said. “I was very quiet. I wasn’t as strong as I am now. I wasn’t a good ball handler. I think I’ve gotten better at just improving ball handling strength and getting to know my team more.”
What makes Pierini’s season so impressive is the fact she has played everywhere on the court, despite standing just 5-foot-11.”
“Sometimes she’s asked to bring the ball up against some of the match-ups,” Schmid said. “Sometimes she’ll be on the wing on the zone, sometimes she’ll be on the baseline. Sometimes she’s on the free throw line. We have her in the post.
“One day she’ll guard DeKok bringing the ball up, then she’s guarding against entry passes to a 6-1 kid for Gateway. She really has a unique game, which is why she’s having such a good year.”
Although she is only a junior, Pierini already has an idea that dermatology may be what she wants to do in life.
“I’m not 100 percent sure but I’m pretty sure,” she said. “I’m very particular about my skin. It’s a good job where it gets you out talking to people, which I like. I don’t want to be stuck at a computer all day.”
For sure, Pierini is someone who doesn’t like to sit still. Schmid calls her the hardest working player in practice.
“She’s smart, she’ll figure things out,” the coach said. “When we have a new wrinkle, she’s always a catalyst. She’s a good person to have going forward the next few years. Basically the nucleus of our team is her friend group, which is nice.”
By mid-January Pierini had a good feeling about the Ravens entering the home stretch.
“I definitely think we’re gonna get better,” she said. “In the beginning of the season we were a little rocky but I knew there was potential and I think we’re gonna keep growing from that.
“I think we developed more team chemistry. We’re having more fun with each other so that will reflect on the floor as well.”
And she will be right in the middle of it all, feeling a lot less stress than that first career start against Hopewell.
Ravens girls’ basketball player Keira Pierin eludes an opponent during a revent game. (Photo by Lisa Boss.),
