They knew about each other before they got to know each other.
Growing up in Stillwater, Sara Scalia was a Gophers fan. She watched Destiny Pitts start her career off with a bang on the way to becoming the Big Ten Conference freshman of the year in the spring of 2018.
“I looked up to her, a lot, before I came here,” said Scalia, herself now a Gophers freshman. “Just the way she played.”
Pitts watched Scalia play a bit, too. In particular, last spring’s Class 4A state title game, when Scalia scored 24 — more than half her team’s points — as Stillwater lost to Hopkins.
“I was impressed with what was going on,” Pitts said. “I was like, ‘She’s going to help us a lot.’ ”
Now it’s less mutual admiration and more friendship. Scalia was coach Lindsay Whalen’s first-ever high school recruit. Pitts is a two-time All-Big Ten player. They got to know each other over the summer, when both players lived in the gym, spending hours working out with — and against — each other.
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