Bethel Park native gets 500th career coaching win

When Shady Side Academy defeated Apollo-Ridge, 66-34, on Jan. 3, Jonna Burke of Bethel Park recorded her 500th career win as a basketball coach.
To reach a milestone that only four other active coaches in the WPIAL have achieved involved luck, explained Burke.
“I have been doing this a long time. Over half my life, I have been a basketball coach,” said the 49-year-old who has been in the business for 28 years. “So I feel lucky that I have been in the places I have been and surrounded by great kids and families.
“When I look back, everything seemed to fall into place for me even if I didn’t think so at the time. So lucky would be the best way to describe how I’m feeling.”
Charmed as her basketball life as been, good fortune only came her way through work. The sport, indeed, has been a labor of love for Burke.
For starters, Burke had an outstanding playing career that landed her induction into several Hall of Fames, including her alma mater, the WPIAL and the Western Pennsylvania Sports honored homes.
During her scholastic career at Bethel Park, Burke scored 1,625 points that included a then record 42 in one game. As a senior, she averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds per game. As a junior her numbers were 20 points and 10 rebounds an outing.
Burke then matriculated to the University of Pittsburgh. For the Panthers, she totaled 1,807 points, 954 rebounds and 224 steals. After being named Big East Rookie of the Year, she went on to gain All-Conference (twice) and All-America acclaim. Tabbed as an ACC Legend of the Game in 2016, she still ranks in Pitt’s Top 10 for scoring, rebounding, steals and assists.
After her playing career, Burke transitioned to coaching. She served eight seasons at Butler and 18 years at Bethel Park before moving on to Shady Side Academy in 2021.
The majority of Burke’s triumphs occurred at BP, where she was also raising a family with her husband, Kevin. The couple have two children, Logan, a standout soccer player, and Tanner, who plays baseball, basketball and football.
Burke compiled a 360-107 mark at BP. Her teams qualified for postseason play during her entire tenure. She guided the Black Hawks to 14 district semifinal appearances, a WPIAL championship in 2013 and three runner-up trophies.
Burke recalls those triumphs equally as well as the milestone victory.
“(Winning the 500th) was awesome and it was nice what people did. The ceremony, game ball, cake, balloons, flowers. It was all really nice and over the top,” Burke said. “That will be forever etched in my brain as are those WPIAL teams and appearances. The magnitude of those games and the bigger the games are, those are the ones you remember most.”
The 2022-23 campaign is shaping up as one to be remembered as the Bulldogs were 8-1 overall and atop the Class 3A Section 3 standings after Burke’s 500th triumph. Her roster includes a plethora of young players, including a pair of freshmen Maggie Spell from Pleasant Hils and Karis Thomas from Washington.
“Our goal is to make the playoffs and do some damage. See what we can do. That’s always been my goal,” Burke said.
Her coaching objectives are similar. She plans to continue winning basketball games.
“As long as I have the love and passion for it, I hope to stick around and do this for as many more years as I can,” she said. “I hope to be in the situation where I get to pick the end and the end doesn’t pick it for me.”