Mt. Lebanon senior named MVP
By Eleanor Bailey/Almanac Sports Editor/ebailey@thealmanac.net
Ashleigh Connor guided Mt. Lebanon to a WPIAL title and a runner-up showing in the PIAA by averaging 21 points and 8.1 rebounds a game. In the process, she earned Almanac MVP laurels.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Ashleigh Connor is The Almanac MVP for girls’ basketball.
In a PIAA second-round girls basketball playoff game, Bethel Park appeared on its way to an upset victory against Mt. Lebanon when Ashleigh Connor emerged to make a difference.
She buried a 3-point field goal that erased a BP lead and finished with a game-high 20 points, 17 from the charity stripe, in Lebo’s 50-41 triumph.
“Ashleigh could change the outcome of any game,” said BP coach Sam Loadman. “She can score from anywhere and is a great rebounder. A very solid, all-around player with a complete game,” Loadman added.
Upper St. Clair coach Pete Serio was even more emphatic. “Ashleigh Connor was the best player in our section and in the WPIAL.”
Perhaps in the state of Pennsylvania too. But that is yet to be determined.
For now, Connor will have to be content with Almanac MVP. She garnered the distinction because of her dominance this winter.
Connor ranked among the WPIAL leaders with a 21.04 scoring average. The 5-10 forward also pulled down 8.1 rebounds, dished up two assists an outing and created nearly three steals a game. She also connected on 43 percent of her field goals and 34 percent of her long-range shots.
“Ashleigh is truly a special player,” said Lebo head coach Dori Oldaker.
From the get-go, Connor displayed that quality.
As a freshman, she averaged 10.6 points and 3.1 steals per game and helped the Blue Devils clinch a playoff berth. In the process, she raked in accolades such as Almanac Rookie of the Year and all-section performer.
As a sophomore, she gained all-state accolades by managing 20.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.9 steals an outing. She moved up from third to second team on the all-state list as a junior.
Last year, she again led Lebo with a 21.7 scoring average. She also managed 6.2 rebound a game for the Blue Devils, who finished 17-4 overall after losing to North Allegheny in the district semifinals. That season, Connor also surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for her career.
All that, however, was just ground work for this year’s campaign.
Connor captained Mt. Lebanon to its first WPIAL championship since 2012 and fourth state championship appearance since 2009. The Blue Devils finished 27-2 overall.
“Over my whole career, this is what we have been working for. I have always wanted to win a WPIAL championship and win a state title,” Connor said. “Even though (the PIAA) didn’t happen, I still got (to Hershey) and got the medal. Nothing could have made me more proud.”
Connor admitted she did not expect the Blue Devils to go that far. However, once the team started gelling on the court and she saw the outcomes such as the victories –Lebo won 20 straight before taking its first tumble — Connor knew they were destined for big things this past winter.
“We had the potential to go as far as we wanted. Even after we won the WPIAL, we knew we were not done yet. Even though we did not get the outcome we wanted at states, it was an incredible honor to make it there and get the silver medal.
“Truly,” she added, “I am literally at a loss for words to describe my thoughts on the season. It was an incredible journey.”
The ride is far from over. Connor will continue her career at St. Louis University. She plans to major in engineering or pursue a pre-med tract.
What struck Connor about the Missouri school was its Pittsburgh feel and the camaraderie among the players.
“It’s Pittsburgh,” she said of St. Louis, “but it’s not right here. It’s nice to go out and explore but it felt homey to me.”
As an AAU player, Connor has called many places home, including her birthplace, Princeton, N.J. Connor has played in tournaments as far away as Australia and Hawaii.
“I’ve been to many spectacular places,” she acknowledged. “Thanks to this incredible sport, I have gone all over the world. Basketball is something I will never get away from. I will always have one with me.”
Currently, Connor is toting the ball to open gyms and practices. She’s honing her game so she can “get on the court, get some minutes and potentially start” as a freshman at St. Louis.
“There is room to improve everything. Wherever I go, I give my best so we can do big things there, too.”
Connor hopes to be an example for future players at the scholastic as well as the collegiate levels. She is uncertain of a career beyond that, such as competing overseas or in the WNBA, but she is sure that hard work pays dividends.
“All I have done, all the hard work I have put into this, has been to show people that anything is possible and to have had the incredible season we did.”
As for the future, she continued, “The door is always open. I will never close one or a chapter out.”
Oldaker is certain the area has not heard the last of Connor or her achievements.
“Ashleigh deserves all the accolades that she is receiving. She definitely earned them,” Oldaker commented. “She’s such a coachable player and her future looks very bright.”