The champion mindset isn’t instilled into everyone. It’s either you have it, or you don’t, and Manhasset junior guard Danielle Perfetto is the embodiment of championship or bust.
For a team with no seniors, the young roster is led by Perfetto, who aspires to make it back to the New York State Girls Basketball Championship. The furthest she’s gotten was the state semi-finals during her eighth-grade season.
“I think the offensive stats are a result of her work ethic and what she does every day in practice,” said Manhasset head coach Matthew Kelly. “Defensively, she’s incredible at communicating and setting up her teammates. She’s gone from being the eighth-grader who went to the state semifinal to having the experience a couple of years later to help the younger kids. She’s really done a good job leading the younger kids who don’t have a lot of experience.”
As an eighth grader, she witnessed her team fall short of competing for a state championship. It was devastating for the town of Manhasset, but it hit close to home for Perfetto.
“I looked up to a lot of the seniors, one of them being my sister,” Perfetto said. “Seeing how upset she was put a lot of things into perspective for me. I want to be here again in my high school career. Maybe this year, maybe it’s next year, but I think it’s very realistic that we’ll get there.”
Perfetto has led Manhasset to a (7-5) overall record and (5-1) Conference AA-3 record by averaging 19.5 points per game, which is third in Nassau County. With Kelly being a first-time head coach, Perfetto has simplified his approach in his first season, as the team sits in second place.
“Everything that we do is a result of her creating for others or her creating for herself and every day she’s the best teammate that she can be,” Kelly said. “We wouldn’t be in the position that we’re in if it wasn’t for her, so we’re very fortunate to have her.”
For Perfetto, it’s not just the abundance of points she racks up every game. It’s being a complete player and coming up when the lights are the brightest on both ends of the court.
“I like to play fast,” Perfetto said. “I like to push the ball, but I’m a big defender, so I like to bring effort and energy there too.”
Before the season, Kelly and Perfetto discussed her goals for the upcoming season; they were all team-oriented. Her teammates hold her in high regard, as they’ve “looked up to her” all season.
“She won’t say them, but there’s obviously a plethora of individual goals that we feel she is capable of accomplishing,” Kelly said. “Everything that goes with her mindset is if there’s team success, the notoriety will come with it.”
The Nassau County star doesn’t just shine on the hardwood. She’s committed to playing lacrosse at Brown University in the fall of 2027.
“I feel like people put her in a box as a lacrosse player,” Kelly said. “She is not just a lacrosse player; she is equally as dominant on a basketball court as well. We’re very fortunate to have, and I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity to coach her.”
“I think [playing lacrosse at Brown] was just going to give me the best opportunity,” Perfetto said. “I think it was going to challenge me, and I think that’s really important to me.”
As a junior, Perfetto has the opportunity to dominate the gym and the field for the rest of 2026 and all of 2027, before her high school career winds down.
