North Haven girls’ basketball Coach Chris Barry says Brianne Melillo is such a good athlete that “she could probably pick up any sport and be good at it.” Fortunately for Barry, Brianne competes for his team and played a pivotal part in the Indians returning to the state tournament last season. Now a senior captain, Brianne is doing damage defensively by averaging four steals and 5.5 rebounds to go with six points per game.

Like Coach Barry, softball skipper Sally Maher praises Brianne’s athleticism, saying, “She could play anywhere for us and probably even pitch if we needed her to.” And just like in basketball, Brianne will captain North Haven this spring on the heels of a 2013 season that saw the center fielder bat .537 to make All-Oronoque for the third straight year.

About the only thing Brianne doesn’t do is drive the bus to the Indians’ road games, although her career isn’t over so stay tuned.

“Brianne is such a versatile athlete in that she’s quick like a guard, but has the strength of a post player so she can defend anybody. She’s a fearless defender and one of our top rebounders, yet has also improved her offensive game this season,” says Barry of his 5-foot-7 guard. “Brianne is also a great leader who’s vocal, all about the team concept, constantly strives for improvement, and wants to win.”

Brianne—who’s in her second season as captain—entered the campaign striving to improve her offensive output and has twice hit double digits in victory, scoring 10 in a win over Barlow and netting 12 versus Cross. Meanwhile, Brianne remains a force on defense for she snagged four steals against Barlow, five in the Cross game, and notched seven thefts in a win versus Platt Tech. Brianne talks about how she aims to play on both sides of the floor.

“My goal on defense is just to get the ball. I want to give the ball to our point guard Jill Johnson so we can run our offense. So I’m always looking for steals, but you don’t want to overdo it because that can lead to other failures. The key is to read the pass and be ahead of the play,” says Brianne, who’s received SCC Scholar Athlete distinction every year. “But offense is also a huge part of the game and I wanted to help the team by scoring more points. I’m making more shots and, although I still have to drive more, that will come as I progress.”

Speaking of progression, the Indians made a major one between Brianne’s sophomore and junior seasons, going from winning no games to earning eight victories and a state tourney berth last winter. Brianne says “being part of that turnaround was awesome” and now wants her Indians to keep displaying mental toughness so they can again make states.

“Coach tells us that physical pain is temporary, but the mental pain lasts longer,” says Brianne, who plans to study nursing in college. “So if you’re getting tired or knocked around in a game, you push through it because you know it won’t last forever. But the mental pain of knowing you didn’t try your hardest or gave up is much worse. That’s something our team really took to heart.”

Brianne also wants her softball squad to prove mentally strong this spring, when North Haven will aim to reclaim the Oronoque title after its streak of seven straight crowns was snapped last year.

“Everyone wants that Oronoque title back,” Brianne says. “That will be a huge goal for our team.”