Aug 5, 2013 3 min read

Signing to play professional basketball in Italy wasn’t a difficult decision for Peters Township graduate Emily Correal.

“I’ve always wanted to continue playing,” Correal said. “In high school, I wanted to continue on to college. Now, I want to keep playing for as long as I can. Playing professionally is something I always dreamed of doing, and it’s the next step for me.”

The next step also happens to be a familiar one, at least in terms of Correal’s lineage.

Correal chose to play for Fila San Martino, in part because of her strong Italian roots; her great-grandparents, Giuseppe Correale – the family eventually shortened the last name – and Rose Ianello, were “full-blooded Italians” and never naturalized in America.

The significance?

Because of her great-grandparents, Correal can gain citizenship in order to potentially play for the Italian National Team without taking up one of the two slots allotted to Americans.

“It’s a big advantage because teams over there can only have two Americans per team, so I wouldn’t count against the American quota,” Correal said. “This year, I’m playing as an American because I don’t have the citizenship yet.

“I should have it by next year. I’ve already spoken to the coach, and he’s interested in having me play on the team.”

Correal, a two-time selection as the Observer-Reporter’s Player of the Year, played college basketball at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., and placed her name all over the Tribe’s record books.

Over a program-best 114 starts, Correal scored 1,349 points, enough to place her sixth on the school’s all-time list. Her 839 career rebounds rank fifth, and she’s one of only four Tribe players to register 100 blocked shots, finishing with 104.

As successful as Correal was – she averaged 16.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game this past season, earning second team All-Colonial Athletic Association honors – there’s one aspect of her game she didn’t get to showcase as much as she would have liked.

“Shooting threes is huge over there,” said Correal, who holds pretty much every significant record at Peters Township, including 1,808 career points and 1,217 rebounds.

“My coach said he wants me to shoot and that they’ll be setting screens for me to shoot the three-point shot,” Correal added. “I’m looking forward to that. I’ve been working on that. I didn’t really do it that much in college, just because it wasn’t really my role.”

Correal has been doing mostly individual work since graduating from William & Mary, where she majored in marketing: cardio and some lifts three days a week at Jezioro’s in Bethel Park, shooting nearly every day at the Peters Township Community Recreation Center with her father, Chuck, rebounding.

With an Aug. 18 departure date looming, Correal, whose picture is prominently displayed on the front of San Martino’s web page, can’t wait to get started on her international career. The season officially begins Oct. 13 versus Ragusa.

“I just want to play basketball for as long as I can,” Correal said. “I really have dreams of playing in America, playing for the WNBA. Hopefully I can improve over there, put up big stats and get a WNBA tryout.

“I also hope to get a new experience out of it, learning a new culture and maybe a language. I mean, why wouldn’t you? If you could play basketball overseas, why wouldn’t you? You can always get a regular job.”