A trio of sisters helped the Panthers with their long run in the state playoffs.
Cheryl Remolde never had to look far to find someone to play ball with her.
Whenever she got the itch to shoot hoops, she could always count on her sister Casey to keep her company. She also had her sister Shannon as a playmate.
All those days practicing at their Fox Chase home is paying off huge for St. Basil’s Academy High School.
Cheryl is a senior point guard on the Panthers. Casey, a junior, is a swingman. Shannon is Cheryl’s backup.
And together, it’s equaled headaches for opposing teams. But more importantly, it’s a dream come true for the oldest sister.
“I can’t even put into words what it’s like to play with them, it’s just the best,” Remolde said. “I’ve played a lot with Casey, but I haven’t played with Shannon since I was in eighth grade and she was in fifth. A lot of people get to play with their sister, but I don’t know many people who have been able to play with two of their sisters.”
Remolde loves every minute she’s on the floor with her sisters and that’s why she is so happy the team made a long run it the state playoffs, a run that ended on Friday when the Panthers fell to Neumann-Goretti 49–27 at Bensalem High School.
“I’m happy (we did) so well because I’ve played with most of the girls on this team for my entire life,” she said. “It’s not just my sister. The whole team is a family. I think it’s because there’s only 50 girls in each class, we’re all very close.”
That closeness is what helps the team chemistry. And a lot of that chemistry comes from the sisters playing together.
“Playing with (her sisters) is great because we just know what the other one is going to do,” Remolde said. “Casey can do everything out there. She’s a great player who can do anything. Shannon is a great point guard. She’s a freshman and there are times out there people think she’s me. She’s very good.
“And there are times when we all play together and it’s pretty cool to hear the (public address announcer) say all of our names. And when we play, we are so connected. I think a lot of that is because we’re a family and we’re so close.”
Remolde is quick to brag about the success of her siblings. When she’s not talking about her sisters’ strengths, she likes to talk about her older brothers (Danny, a former basketball player at La Salle, and Frank, an ex-ice hockey player at Roman Catholic). But when talking about her greatest attributes, she focuses on the team.
“The team is really good, we all play so well together, probably because we’ve been playing together so long,” Remolde said. “I try and just be a leader out there. When things are chaotic, I try to be the point guard and calm everyone down. But usually I just do my best to get everyone else going, offensively. That’s what a point guard should do.”
That’s the same attitude Remolde takes to all her sports.
Last fall, Remolde was the starting center midfielder on the Panthers soccer team that advanced to the state finals. In the spring, Remolde will line up at center for the lacrosse team.
She’s proud of everything her teams have accomplished thus far and hopes the spring brings another great year.
“We did great in soccer and we had a great run in basketball this year, too,” Remolde said. “It’s great because our school is so small, it’s pretty amazing that we’re able to do this. We have great coaches, and both teams are really close.
“Making a run in lacrosse this year will be hard, but we’re going to try out hardest. We’ll do everything we can to win.”
Lacrosse could very well be the last time Remolde plays sports for her school.
Next year, she’s headed to the University of Pittsburgh and as of now she’s not planning on playing a sport, though playing for a club team is a possibility. Even if she doesn’t, she’ll keep plenty busy. She intends on majoring in biology and pre-med.
“I thought about being either a physician’s assistant or a doctor, and I really love school so I don’t mind going right for my master’s degree,” said Remolde, who ranked in the top 10 percent of her class heading into her senior year. (This year’s numbers aren’t out yet.) “I love going to school and that’s a field I’m really interested in, and I want to help people.
“It will be tough being away from my family because even when I went away for sports, I would always have my sister there. I know I’ll be talking with them on FaceTime or just calling them. I’ll definitely miss them. We’re a family-first family, we always do everything together, so I’ll miss them.”
Missing her family will be tough, but the thought of becoming a doctor is exciting.
But even when she’s known as Dr. Remolde, she’ll always look back on her days as a Panther as a great time in her life.
And while winning playoff games makes her happy, that’s not the best part about playing at Basil.
“I think the thing I’ll miss the most is the girls,” Remolde said. “All of these girls, I’ve played sports with my whole life. I’m really going to miss it. They’re like family, we’ve been friends for so long. It will be tough not playing with them.”
