Grenci’s basketball prowess lands her in county HOF
This is the third in a series of articles profiling members of the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024
ATHENS, Ga. — Lily Grenci took to basketball almost before she ever took a bus to school.
“My family was living in Charlotte (N.C.) and I remember playing for a team at the YMCA,” the 2009 Mars graduate said. “I was one of two girls on the team and I was maybe 5 years old at the time.
“I fell in love with the sport right away.”
It was a love she never lost.
Grenci went on to score a school-record 1,718 points for the Planets’ girls basketball team, pulling down more than 1,000 rebounds as well. She went on to play basketball at Siena College, where she scored 1,074 points, grabbed 624 rebounds and sank 347 free throws, the latter figure ranking fourth in program history.
All of those accomplishments have landed her in the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame. Grenci will be inducted during the organization’s banquet at 6:30 p.m. April 27 at Founders Hall on the campus of Butler County Community College. Also being inducted that night will be Josh Barthlow, Brandon Fusco, Kevin Doyle, Tammie Kelley, Dana Petruska, John Papa and John Enrietto.
“Coach Petruska was my gym teacher in school,” Grenci said. “It will be nice going into the Hall with her. I’m very honored by this. I know there are a lot of great athletes in that Hall of Fame.”
Grenci was inducted into the Mars High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
Among her high school accolades were first team all-state selection, WPIAL Class 3A Player of the Year, three- time Section 1-AAA MVP and a two-time Butler County Player of the Year selection.
“I’m proud to still hold the school scoring record there,” Grenci said of her alma mater. “A lot of great players have passed through that program after me. Eventually, someone’s going to break it. I would love to see that.
“I think I’m more proud of the 1,000 rebounds. Rebounding is determination and will. It’s hard work. I enjoyed helping my team that way. What I remember most about playing basketball at Mars is the relationships I had with the other players. We formed some solid friendships.”
Grenci’s high school coach, Tony Howard, now coaches girls baskeall at Hampton. He was starting out as a high school head coach when he took over at Mars.
“More than an outstanding player, Lily is an outstanding person,” Howard said. “I was so lucky to have her on those first teams I was coaching. I was just getting my feet wet as a head coach, trying to figure things out.
“I owe Lily a lot more than she owes me, I can tell you that.”
Grenci averaged 15.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game as a junior at Siena. She upped those numbers to 15.9 and 9.5 her senior year, ranking among the top three in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in both categories. She was a team captain her junior and senior seasons.
Carrying a 4.0 grade point average, Grenci was a three-time MAAC All-Academic selection and was inducted into the MAAC Honor Roll — which recognizes distinguished student-athletes — in 2015.
“I loved the campus at Siena and it wasn’t a really big school,” Grenci said. “I like smaller schools because I like to get to know people. I didn’t want to go somewhere that was too big for me.”
Grenci graduated from Siena in 2013 with a degree in sociology. She received a masters in business administration from La Moyne College in 2015 and eventually graduated from Herzing College with a 4.0 GPA and a nursing degree.
She now lives and works as a nurse in Georgia.
“I’m not involved in basketball right now, but I have a 2-year-old daughter,” Grenci said. “If she grows up liking the game, I may get back into it.”
Tickets to the BCSHOF banquet are available at www.butlersportshall.com or at the Butler Radio Network on Pillow Street in Butler, Parker Appliance in Chicora, Saxonburg Drug or Maddalon Jewelers in Zelienople.
