Growing up in Lissone, Italy, a town about 15 miles north of Milan, Eleonora Villa didn't have aspirations of coming to the United States for basketball.

Now, she is in a situation she never could have expected – being one of the faces of the Washington State Women's Basketball program.

Basketball has been a part of Villa's life since a young age. With her dad, brother and twin sister all playing basketball, it came as no surprise Villa grew attached to competing and getting better at the sport.

"Every weekend it was always someone's game, and every conversation was always about basketball," Villa said. "Growing up in that environment always inspired us to get better and push each other."

As Villa started to take basketball more seriously, she earned the opportunities to play for Italy's National and FIBA U17 and U18 teams, and while she climbed the ranks of junior basketball, playing collegiate basketball in the United States never interested her.

She hadn't reached out to American schools, but WSU still visited her in Italy and pitched the idea of coming to Pullman. Although Villa was initially skeptical about leaving everything she had in Italy for the United States, a last-minute visit to WSU in April prior to her freshman year changed everything.

"When I did my last-minute visit here, I changed my mind because of the people," Villa said. "It felt like home, and it felt like I belonged here."

Villa's sense of belonging off the bat was largely due to the group of players already in the program that helped ease the transition.

"The fact that the group consisted of a lot of international players helped me a lot because everyone went through the same process, so they knew how I felt," Villa said.

When Villa arrived to the Palouse, while there was an adjustment period off the court living away from home in a new country, there was also an adjustment period on the court as well.

"The play style here is a lot different from back home, it is more physical," Villa said. "Once I got used to it I tried to make the most of my efforts and take it day by day to be the most helpful I could for the team."

Villa saw action in the Cougars first game against Cal Poly, coming off the bench for 21 minutes, scoring six points and grabbing two rebounds. After that, Villa recorded double-digit scoring performances over the next three-straight games.

After a couple solid performances off the bench, Villa earned herself a chance in the starting lineup in WSU's game against Texas A&M Commerce. In her first start, Villa scored a season-high 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, six assists and four rebounds.

"I remember when coach told me I would be starting," Villa said. "I was nervous because I didn't expect it, but I remember treating it as a normal game, focusing on the small things and letting the game come to me."

After an impressive start, Villa solidified herself as a full-time starter. She matched her season-high of 20 points two more times in Pac-12 play, doing it in wins against Colorado and Oregon.

Villa became more adjusted to collegiate basketball throughout the season. In Pac-12 play, Villa became a focal point in the offense and averaged 37 minutes per game. Villa credits her teammates as part of speeding up her development.

"We have had a lot of veterans on the team. During practice I always had someone helping me out with things like shot selection or decision making," Villa said.

Villa finished the season as the second-leading scorer, averaging 12.9 points per game along with 2.3 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game.

After what seemed impossible to Villa a couple of years ago, leaving her family, home and adopting a new way of living, it is now her reality, and she is excited to get back on the court for her sophomore campaign.

"I'm really excited for the start of the season, the group is different from last year," Villa said. "We're so young and talented, and my expectations are high because I think we are really good."