Watching PIAA championship different for McConnell sisters
Kathy and Suzie McConnell embrace after Seton LaSalle defeated Strath Haven, 55-53, at the Hersheypark Arena to win the 1984 PIAA Quad-A girls’ basketball championship. In the overtime win, Kathy tallied 22 points while Suzie finished with 14 markers and 12 rebounds.
The 1984 Seton La Salle girls’ basketball team featured Suzie and Kathy McConnell, the aunts of Megan McConnell and brother of Tim McConnell, who won their own state title when Chartiers Valley defeated Archbishop Carroll, 53-40, in the PIAA Class 5A final on March 23, 2019 at the Giant Center in Hershey. Players on the Rebels’ title team photographed are: (front) Kathy McConnell, Lisa Heuer, Kim Kollinger; (middle) Suzie McConnell, Maureen Finocchi, Lisa Kozlowski, Jean Foley, Carol Vogel; (back) Ben Hartman, head coach, Cheryl Micheli, trainer, Shelley Dipippa, Kristen Trainor, Laura Surdzial, Mary Sue Wantorek, Pam Wiseman, Janet Wilson and Mary Beth Kulback, assistant coach.
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
In addition to winning a PIAA state championship in 1984, Suzie McConnell won an Olympic gold medal in 1988 and a bronze medal in the 1992 Summer Games before embarking on a successful coaching career at the scholastic, professional and collegiate levels.
Suzie McConnell driving to the basket during 1984 girls’ basketball action against Upper St. Clair.
Kathy McConnell in action during the 1984 girls’ basketball season.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Megan and Tim McConnell wave to their family and friends in the stands after winning the PIAA Class 5A girls’ basketball title. The championship was the first for the daughter-father tandem but not the first in the family as Suzie and Kathy McConnell helped Seton LaSalle win a state banner in 1984. The siblings are Megan’s aunt and Tim’s sisters.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Megan McConnell drives to the basket during PIAA Class 5A girls’ championship action.
After Chartiers Valley defeated Thomas Jefferson, 50-44, in the PIAA Class 5A girls’ semifinal basketball game, Sue McConnell gave her granddaughter, Megan, a Hershey Kiss as this was her next destination. But, this was no ordinary chocolate drop.
The silver-wrapped candy was crafted into a necklace. While shopping with her youngest daughter, Maureen, Mrs. McConnell purchased the souvenir for her other two daughters, Suzie and Kathy, who were playing for their own state title 35 years ago.
“My grandma gave it to my aunts that long ago,” Megan said in awe. “She passed it down to me.”
While Megan was helping the Colts beat Archbishop Carroll, 53-40, on March 23 at the Giant Center in Hershey, her mother, Shelley, was wearing the token for good luck. Meanwhile, Megan recalled what she had been told of the fortune it took for Seton LaSalle to capture its own state championship.
“Their win was a great story,” she said.
Indeed, the Rebels won the 1984 PIAA title in overtime, 55-53. A Penn State recruit, Suzie scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds but had fouled out in regulation. A junior and Virginia recruit, Kathy finished with 22 tallies. Yet, a sophomore Pam Wiseman buried a buzzer beater from the corner for the game-winning basket.
“Oh my goodness, it was torture,” Suzie recalled of having to watch the final four minutes of action from the bench. “We had called a timeout to set up for the last shot and Pam kept saying ‘do not pass me the ball. Whatever you guys do, do not pass me the ball.”
“Hilarious,” Kathy said of the huddle and “absolutely amazing,” Suzie said of the heart-stopping ending.
Even more amazing is that Kathy and Pam remain best friends.They talk to each other every day. In fact, Pam texted Kathy’s brother, CV head coach Tim McConnell, before this year’s final. “She told Timbo if he needed somebody to talk to his bench about being ready, then to let her know.”
Kathy didn’t know that when she entered the Giant Center on March 23 that flashbacks to 1984 would overwhelm her but they did.
“What incredible memories it brought back,” she said. “We talked about where the shot was and how Tim was right there at the center of it all, cheering for us. He was right at the edge of the boards when we came off the court. He was our biggest supporter. Our biggest memories are of him and how our family supported us. So it was important to all of us to be there for him this time.”
Memories of a lifetime
For Suzie, the PIAA championships always bring back memories. Throughout her illustrious career at the scholastic level, Hershey has been a fixture.
After playing at SLS and Penn State, competing in two Olympic Games and the WNBA, Suzie served as head coach at Oakland Catholic for 13 seasons, posting a 321-86 record. During that time, her teams won three PIAA state championships (1993, 2001, 2003), were runners-up twice (2000-2002), and won five consecutive district championships (1999-2003).
Suzie said that this year’s PIAA championships “absolutely” brought back memories, not so much as when she was a player, but particularly when she was a coach. She said it was “especially” fun to watch the Peters Township game on television and to listen to her former player, Megan Bulger, announcing. When Oakland Catholic played at the Giant Center, the court had a different design complete with NBA lines, and Bulger knocked down 3-pointers from that range.
“Hershey is known for state championships,” Suzie said. “It creates special memories that you remember forever.”
With pride and a relaxed manner, Suzie and Kathy watched as their niece did her part. In a 53-40 win against Archbishop Carroll, Megan scored five points, dished up two assists, had three steals and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, an amazing accomplishment considering the 5-7 point guard was the smallest player on the court.
“Megan plays hard and with passion,” Suzie said. “She knows the game. “So I didn’t give her any advice. I just told her to enjoy it and have fun.”
Kathy, too, did not advise Megan. Along with her daughters, Mackenzie and Macie, as well as her son, Bryce and husband, Brad Miller, she supported her from the bleachers.
“We were just fans of Megan and Tim,” she said. “Watching how she has developed so much as a player under Tim and how special it was to have your dad coach you in the state championship and go undefeated and win in that fashion was beyond words. Special,” she added.
Special ending
Playing in a PIAA championship is special. It’s the games before the final that are taxing. As the Colts progressed past General McClane, 59-24, Slippery Rock, 54-35, Oakland Catholic, 46-43, and TJ, pressure mounted.
“The games leading up to Hershey are more nerve-racking. Watching and having coached, I feel like it is tougher to get there than to win it, especially for a team from western Pennsylvania, very often because of the familiarity there is among the teams. It’s crazy to have to beat a team four times like CV had to do against TJ.
“I’m not saying that it isn’t tough to win a state championship but it is different. Once you get to Hershey, there is no pressure though expectations are so high. You know it’s your last game and you can play relaxed and confident.”
While watching from the stands, Suzie had all the confidence in the world in Megan’s father. Tim McConnell trained Suzie when she prepared for her Olympics bids. She won a gold medal in the 1988 Summer Games played in Seoul, Korea and a bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Games played in Barcelona, Spain. Tim coached the CV boys for 25 years, amassing a 552-146 record, complete with two appearances in Hershey. The Colts lost their bids for PIAA championships in 1998 and 2010.
“When you are involved in a game, whether as a player or a coach, it’s different to watch than as a fan,” Suzie said. “As a coach, you are doing things on the court and you are involved in the game and when I watch a game, I can’t help myself but watch what my brother is doing as a coach and trying to pick up new things. I’m constantly analyzing things and trying to pick up different perspectives.
“I would say though there wasn’t anything I would have changed. He had a great game plan. You can’t criticize one bit because he had a perfect season.
“My only fear is that he’s going to think coaching girls is easy now. But he had a very special group this year,” Suzie continued. “Mackenzie (Wagner) demonstrated such leadership. She’s very talented. All the players stepped up. They were so unselfish. They were fun to watch. Amazing,” she added. “I am so happy for them and for him.”
While Suzie awaits the right situation to return to coaching (she coached in the WNBA as well as at Duquesne and Pitt most recently), she, too, like her mother, has packed away a few keepsakes for her grandchildren. She says that all her medals are no longer on display, rather replaced by mementos and portraits of her family. The Upper St. Clair resident and her husband, Pete Serio, have four grown children, Peter, Jordan, Mandi and Madison.
“All the gold medals and things are packed away in a bin,” she said.
The memories, though, never retreat into the background.
“They last a lifetime,” said Kathy, a Mt. Lebanon resident. “The best things are the memories you create with your teammates, the preparation and all that goes into a state championship. You’ll look back on these moments and cherish them forever.”