Standing six feet tall, Atty Boyer, a senior forward-center on the women’s basketball team, can look intimidating to someone more vertically challenged. However, her friends and teammates said she has a sense of humor and is a lot of fun to be around.

Boyer moved to America when she was 12 years old. She grew up in Italy with a very close-knit family. Eating meals with extended family members was a common event and the small community she lived in was also very close to one another.

Boyer noticed differences in her Italian neighborhood and the Sacramento community she lives in now.

“I miss it a lot,” Boyer said. “It has a lot more family values. Everyone knew each other.”

Living in two countries has had an impact on Boyer’s life. She can speak three languages now: English, Italian and Spanish.

“I’m content in both places,” Boyer said of her two countries.

At a young age, Boyer joined her first basketball team. She explained that soccer and volleyball are the two most popular sports children play in Italy, so the only basketball team she could join was co-ed.

“I was the only girl until I was 11 years old,” she said. “I was also the tallest player because girls grow faster than boys.”

Her interest in basketball continued when she moved to California. She began playing for Mira Loma High School her freshman year on the varsity team. The following year she transferred to El Camino High School where she played for the rest of her high school career.

As a high school student, Boyer also played volleyball her first few years, but she quit so she could focus on basketball.

“I was good at it,” Boyer said. “However, I just wanted to focus on one sport – basketball.”

Boyer had a torn ACL that caused her to sit out her junior year. The junior year is the most important for college recruiters, Boyer said.

She wears a knee brace now but said that it is due to a more recent injury.

“I’ll probably have arthritis,” Boyer said. “I’m just working on the now, but I should probably look at the later.”

Boyer continued playing during her senior year of high school and was named team MVP.

Boyer joined the Hornets her freshman year at Sacramento State. She was the team’s top newcomer, scoring an average of 3.4 points per game in the 22 games she played in, according to hornetsports.com.

Ali Mollut, Boyer’s roommate and former Hornet teammate, said Boyer was always one of the hardest workers on the court. Mollut played with Boyer during her sophomore and junior years at Sac State. Last year, she graduated with a degree in communication studies.

“She’s one of the most interesting people I know,” Mollut said. “She is (also) one of the most stubborn people I know.”

Mollut recalled one night after the team had just gotten back from an out-of-state tournament that it had lost.

“We had been on the plane for four hours,” Mollut said. “We got to the school at like midnight and she wanted me to rebound for her while she practiced her shots. You really have to dedicate your life to it.”

As a junior, Boyer earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors. She led the Hornets in scoring and rebounding, averaging 12.6 points per game.

Junior point forward Charday Hunt was the team’s second highest scorer during her sophomore year. Hunt has played with Boyer since she joined the Hornets.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Hunt said. “It’s nice to play with people who have been around for awhile.”

Hunt said Boyer is a good leader on the court.

“She’s really good at leading by example and getting people pumped up before a game,” she said.

Hunt is also friends with Boyer outside of the courts.

“She’s one of my best friends here,” Hunt said. “She’s really funny and sarcastic.”

Boyer is graduating in the spring with a major in apparel marketing and design.

“I have no idea what I want to do,” Boyer said. “Maybe move back to Italy.”

Boyer said that she couldn’t see herself coaching, but that she would like to continue playing basketball.

Mollut said she can tell that Boyer loves basketball.

“When someone really loves it I can tell,” Mollut said. “You wouldn’t stick with it this long and be as successful as she is if you didn’t love it.”

Amy Lewis can be reached at [email protected]