Adily Martucci finished her career for the Quinnipiac University women’s basketball team in March in the Sweet 16 in Stockton, Calif.

It was, quite honestly, the ride of a lifetime for Martucci, a fifth-year senior at Quinnipiac and a Waterford High School graduate. And then … Martucci missed the camaraderie.

“I was lost at home. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was sad my season at QU was over. I missed being part of a team,” Martucci said. “Now I have a new one and it’s awesome to have another support group.”

Earlier this week, Martucci, a 5-foot-8 guard, was named to the 12-person Puerto Rican Women’s National Team following a tryout in San Juan. The Puerto Rican Basketball Federation announced the roster Monday which the team will use as part of the 2017 Women’s Centrobasket Championship July 12-16 on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.

Puerto Rico will compete against national teams from the Bahamas, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico and the Virgin Islands for one of three qualifying spots for the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup 2017, to be held Aug. 6-13 in Argentina.

Martucci is Puerto Rican on her mother Adi’s side of the family, qualifying her for the tryout.

“I wasn’t too impressed with my performance, to be honest,” Martucci said. “But I worked as hard as I could and made sure I was, at the very least, vocal. I think maybe that’s the reason why they chose me.

“… Being coached by coach (Tricia) Fabbri and the rest of my coaching staff (at Quinnipiac) and stepping on the floor every day with my teammates really prepared me for a moment like this. And the NCAA tournament, forget about it. That tournament is really something special and I’ll never forget that experience.”

At Quinnipiac, Martucci distinguished herself by playing in 135 career games, more than any other player in program history, and was the only member of the Bobcats ever to reach three NCAA tournaments. Martucci graduated with 961 career points, including 122 3-pointers, ranking her eighth all-time.

Martucci, who captained the Quinnipiac team, led the Bobcats to the 2017 MAAC tournament championship while earning MVP honors. She played 113 minutes of a possible 120 in the tournament. She carried that into the NCAA tournament, blocking a shot in a first-round victory over Marquette and hitting a 3-pointer in a second-round win over host Miami, both in the final minute to help the Bobcats advance.

She calls making the Puerto Rican National Team a “dream come true.”

“I cried,” she said of her reaction. “I’m just so grateful for the opportunity. On top of that, I’ve always wanted to learn about my roots and visit Puerto Rico. I just never knew I’d be doing it in this way. I’m so grateful and honored. Honestly, if you told me that I would one day be on the Puerto Rican National Team, I wouldn’t have believed you. Amazing isn’t even the word.”

Martucci said she also signed up to be draft-eligible for Puerto Rico’s professional league.

“I’m kind of taking one step at a time,” said Martucci, a 2012 Waterford graduate. “I’m just trying to learn as much as I can right now and grow.”

Also representing Puerto Rico this summer is recent New London High School graduate India Pagan, who led the Whalers to the Class LL state championship and Connecticut's No. 1 ranking as a senior.

Pagan played for her parents’ native Puerto Rico in the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Women’s Championship in Chile and will compete for the nation in the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in Italy from July 22-30. Pagan will attend Stony Brook University in the fall.

v.fulkerson@theday.com