Small, private HBCUs such as Virginia Union University sometimes must explore off the beaten path for talent. Even area health clubs can be on the search list.

Rachael Pecota had been away from organized basketball some five years when her jump shot was spotted at American Family Fitness in Midlothian.

“I saw Rachael at open gym and thought to myself, ‘This girl can really play,’ ” said VUU Assistant Coach Jasmine Young. “So we started talking.”

The chitchat led to Pecota, who had been working at a kindergarten, enrolling at VUU and joining the powerhouse Lady Panthers. She has quickly emerged as a bona fide 3-point threat.

“Rachael has an amazing shot with a quick release,” said VUU head Coach AnnMarie Gilbert. “Also she has a tremendous basketball IQ.”

The 6-footer joined the Lady Panthers at the start of spring semester and has become a dangerous long-distance hit.

During the last three games, all VUU victories, she has connected with the basket. On Jan. 2 against Winston-Salem State University, she connected on three of four treys, scoring nine points. On Jan. 5, in VUU’s game against Shaw University, she hit four of seven 3-pointers for 16 points. And last Saturday against Fayetteville State University, she made two of four treys for six points.

Her 60 percent accuracy from behind the arc helped the Lady Panthers go to 12-0 and look very much like the clear favorite to win a second straight CIAA title.

“I know it’s a unique situation, but I’ve never felt more at home,” Pecota told the Free Press.

Pecota is surely “unique” in terms of her age — she turns 26 this month — and her race. The tall blonde becomes the first Caucasian ever to suit up for VUU women’s hoops.

On the men’s side, there have been two white players, Tommy Leary in the early 1970s and Vance Harmon in the early 1990s.

Pecota arrives on Lombardy Street with an intriguing hoops résumé, albeit one that needs freshening up. From San Francisco, she graduated from The Urban School in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in 2009 and was rated the 25th best wing in the nation by ESPN/HoopGurlz.

From numerous offers, she chose Northeastern University in Boston and led the Colonial Athletic Association school in scoring (13.8) and rebounding (6.2) in 2011.

In a notable game against Syracuse University, Pecota nailed seven 3-pointers en route to 25 points.

Then things became complicated.

It almost reads like a sequel from “The Natural” — the mysterious, older athlete coming out of nowhere to defy Father Time and rediscover stardom.

She speaks of a “hardship back home” that led to taking time off. Then there was an ACL tear for Pecota that required major surgery and rehabilitation.

She transferred to Fresno State and San Francisco State University, but never played at either California school. Having given up the college dream, she moved to Powhatan County two years ago to be near her mother, Jennifer.

“I’ve always had a thing for the East Coast going back to when I was playing AAU,” she said. “It’s like I was destined to live on this side of the country.”

She landed a job caring for children during the day and returned to the basketball court at night, facing almost all-male competition at American Family Fitness in Midlothian.

“I scouted out all the gyms, looking for one with an open gym,” she recalled. “Growing up, I was always the only girl in the pickup games, so that (playing men) didn’t bother me at all.”

Despite wearing a heavy knee brace, Pecota held her own against the men and, in so doing, caught Coach Young’s eye.

“I had been going to American Family for years, and before Rachael, I was usually the only girl,” said Coach Young, who starred at Monacan High School in Chesterfield County and East Carolina University before getting into coaching.

Pecota hails from athletic stock. Her father, the late Scott Pecota, was a football lineman at Idaho State University, and a cousin, Bill Pecota, played eight seasons in Major League Baseball, mostly with the Kansas City Royals.

Pecota has the remainder of this season and one more at VUU, where she plans to major in sociology or criminal justice.

“I’m in a great situation,” she said, her brown eyes sparkling.

“I’m back in school, playing with a great bunch of girls,” she said. “I’m expecting nothing less than a national championship.”