Eden Prairie girls' basketball manager gets special first start

EDEN PRAIRIE (FOX 9) - An Eden Prairie High School student has been an important part of the girls' basketball team for the entire season, but on Friday night, she got to do something she'll never forget.
   
17-year-old Pilar Sisinni has been the Eden Prairie girl's basketball team's manager and is one of the team's biggest supporters. She was diagnosed with down syndrome at birth and has never participated in team sports, but when the Eagles took on Edina for the last game of the regular season, Sissini was on the court as a player.

It was a moment Eden Prairie coach Ellen Wiese said the team and fans had been eagerly anticipating.

"She loves basketball; she loves these girls, so for her to be able to take the floor in a uniform and shoot a basket is going to be phenomenal. And I don't believe there'll be a dry eye in the gym," Wiese told FOX 9.

Sisinni was also looking forward to it.

"I'm really excited. I'm so excited I can play basketball," she said.

The two teams coordinated to let Pilar take the first shot. As the ball bounced off the backboard and into the net, the crowd rose to its feet and cheered while Pilar was mobbed by her teammates.

For Pilar's father, Tony Sisinni, it was an important night for his daughter.

"It's a God-sent that she's getting to do this because she's the biggest fan of the Eden Prairie girl's basketball team, and now she's part of it," he said.