American University

2024-25 (Junior): Patriot League Academic Honor Roll … Appeared in all 30 games, starting in 25 ... Had career-highs in points (147) and rebounds (68) ... Added 40 assists and 17 steals ... Scored a career-high 19 points against FDU (11/8) and added 3 assists and 4 rebounds ... Had a career-high 8 rebounds against George Washington (12/16).

2023-24 (Sophomore): Patriot League Academic Honor Roll ... Appeared in 21 of 30 games … Scored 31 points (1.5 ppg) and 10 rebounds (0.5 rpg) … Added 7 assists and 3 steals … Scored a career-high 13 points against Loyola Maryland (3/6) and added 4 assists and a steal … Matched her career-high 4 rebounds against Loyola Maryland (1/17) … Closed her season with 2 assists and 3 points against Bucknell (3/9) in the Patriot League first round.

2022-23 (Freshman): Patriot League Academic Honor Roll ... Played in 26 of 31 games, getting her first collegiate start against Lafayette (1/18), during her freshman campaign … Scored 42 points (1.6 ppg) and brought down 22 rebounds (0.8 rpg) … Also added 13 assists, eight steals, and a block … Scored a career high eight points against Lehigh (1/14) and added two rebounds and an assist … Pulled down a career high four boards in the very next game against Lafayette (1/18) while also scoring four points and grabbing two steals … Closed her season going 2-3 from the floor against eventually championship winners Holy Cross (3/6) in the Patriot League quarterfinal round.
 
High School: Attended Liceo Classico Franchetti in Venice … Played for the club team Reyer Venezia … Averaged 33 minutes per game, 13 ppg, and six rpg … Career best was 27 points in a single game … Won the Italian Female Championship with the first division in 2020-21 … Played for the Italian National Team in 2019 for both Europeans and EYOP (Young Olympic Games) … Placed second at the U19 Italian Championship
 
Personal: The daughter of Lilia Malaja and Antonino Rescifina. She has 3 sisters, and they all play basketball. As a child, she won multiple swimming and ski competitions before fully dedicating herself to basketball. Her mother, Lilia Malaja, was a prominent European basketball player, winning the first gold medal at the 1984 U18 European Championship. She went on to play professionally in eight different countries, competing alongside several WNBA players and forming a lasting friendship with Tina Thompson. In 2000, she made history with the landmark “Malaja Decision,” a milestone in the globalization of sports law.

Her father, Antonino Rescifina, has been an entrepreneur and sports executive since 1991. He served as President of an Italian Women’s Serie A1 club, completed two terms as President of the Italian Basketball Federation in Sicily, and currently sits on the Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee of the FIBA Foundation.

The family’s basketball legacy also extends to her grandfather, Giuseppe Rescifina, for whom a 7,000-seat arena in Messina is named, honoring his work as a leading basketball executive in the 1960s and 1970s. Outside of basketball, Anna enjoys drawing and photography. She chose American University for “its excellent academics and very strong basketball program.” She is majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and pursuing a minor in Data Science.