It is Wednesday morning after Tuesday night’s women’s basketball game in Houghton New York where the Pioneers defeated the Highlanders 57-48, and forward Anna Maria Boshkova is running on only three hours of sleep.The 6-foot-1-inch Bulgarian native not only never misses a game, but she also goes to class the morning after, no matter how late she gets back to Point Park University.”Her academics are outstanding,” women’s basketball Head Coach Sam Kosanovich said. “She is definitely committed to doing whatever it’s going to take to make our team better. [Boshkova] doesn’t miss practices.”Boshkova, 20, was initially recruited to play basketball right after high school for National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Fairmont State University, which is a higher-level program than Point Park’s. There she played in nine games, she scored 12 points on five of eight shootings and made 10 rebounds in her total of 42 minutes of playtime. Boshkova had several post veteran players in front of her in the lineup.But something just was not right.”Fairmont was [too] country for me, and I come from a city [so I] like city life,” Boshkova said.Boshkova decided to transfer to Point Park in her sophomore year to study business and play basketball because it was close to Fairmont and because of the lively urban campus.”I love Pittsburgh,” Boshkova said with a slight Bulgarian accent. “It reminds me of my city, Sofia. It is like a small New York.”Her hometown, Sofia, Bulgaria, happens to be the nation’s capitol with a population of about 1.3 million people.As much as she loves America, Boshkova misses her family and the “versatile” culture of Europe.Boshkova’s basketball life started when she was eight years old, but it is not the only sport she has ever tried. Boshkova has been involved in gymnastics, swimming and even beach volleyball. But in the end, she favors the challenge of basketball.”It’s a high level of performance,” Boshkova said. “It’s up-tempo and really dynamic. [Basketball] is really intense and fun to watch.”Boshkova was team captain and MVP of her high school team and averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds per game. She even competed internationally for her Bulgarian Under-20 team at the 2008 Under-19 European Championship.”I didn’t know that I wanted to go to America before I knew a couple of my friends,” Boshkova said.It was at the championship when her friend from basketball, who knew a coach at Fairmont, asked her “if you really want to play ball and study, why don’t you just go to America?”Now a forward for the Point Park Pioneers, Boshkova “fits perfectly” with the team, according to freshman guard Teresa Davis.”I love my teammates. Every player on our team is just a great player,” Boshkova said.When the intensity is high in a close home game, Boshkova looks forward to the fans’ reaction.As the season draws to its end, her coach recognizes her potential for future years as a European player with an experienced background.”[Boshkova] has great knowledge of the game, [and] she’s a fundamentally sound player,” Kosanovich said. “That seems to be a trait of European players. They are very structured in their play.”The coach is not the only one who notices her talent.”She is very strong and smart on the court,” Davis said. “She brings a new style to our team.”The Pioneers are ranked second in the American Mideast Conference (AMC) for defense this year and played a 14-13 winning season.”It’s been the first time in 25 years that the women’s team has had back-to-back seasons above 500 [points],” Kosanovich said.Boshkova has contributed to the success by starting seven times and averaging 3.7 points per game with 3.2 rebounds.In her spare time, Boshkova enjoys visiting museums and art galleries and seeing shows and musicals, especially when preformed by Point Park students.Consequently, Boshkova wants to focus on business dealing with art and has an indefinite plan to return to Europe for graduate school in the future. But, according to her, she still has two more years to figure it out.