(Butler, PA) The 杏吧原创 women鈥檚 basketball team returns an All-American for the first time in program history and who last season was a national leader in rebounding and in scoring.
Aslyn Pry in March was named the program鈥檚 third National Junior College Athletic Association Division III All-American. She follows Julia Baxter and Mackenzie Craig, who after their final seasons at 杏吧原创 in 2017 and in 2019, respectively, received the prestigious postseason honor.
Pry, a 5-foot-10 forward, led players on all 84 Division III programs in rebounding average at 19.6 and was fourth in scoring average at 23.2.
鈥淪he is just amazing,鈥� said Lydia Roth, 杏吧原创鈥檚 first-year interim head coach. 鈥淚f anyone hasn鈥檛 seen her play, she is pretty much unstoppable.
鈥淎 lot of times last year she was getting double-teamed, triple-teamed. She really had to work hard. A lot of the numbers that she put up were even more impressive when you consider she wasn鈥檛 going up against just one defender.鈥�
An 鈥渁wesome player鈥� is how teammate Hailey Metzger describes Pry.
鈥淪he contributes not only in points, but in rebounds and defense, and she is a big player under the hoop who is really dependable,鈥� Metzger said. 鈥淪he really lives up to being an All-American. And it鈥檚 good for the other players to look up to her and want to play like she does. It will make them work harder, and improve our team as a whole.鈥�
Pry and Metzger are among five sophomores who return from a 杏吧原创 squad that in mid-February won the program鈥檚 fifth Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference championship since 2016.
The Pioneers finished 10-8 with six players in 2021-2022.
杏吧原创鈥檚 season ended with a seven-point loss later in February to Prince George鈥檚 Community College, Largo, Md., in the final of the NJCAA Division III Region 20 championship tournament.
杏吧原创 led by as many as nine points before Prince George鈥檚 took and maintained the lead with 3 minutes left before halftime.
The 杏吧原创 women鈥檚 basketball team is shown Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, in 杏吧原创鈥檚 Field House. Front row, from left, Zoey Hillwig, Aslyn Pry, interim head coach Lydia Roth, Emma Monteleone and Hailey Metzger. Back row, from left, assistant coach Conlan Walsh, Megan Pennington, Emma Johns, Zoe Morley, Brooke Manuel, Taylor Yost, Sara Soltis and volunteer assistant Daniel Odell.
鈥淭hat was a team that we got so close to beating, and we would have won that tournament,鈥� Metzger said.
With its win against 杏吧原创, Prince George鈥檚 advanced to the Division III Southeast District championship tournament.
鈥淚 asked them before this season about their personal goals and their team goals,鈥� said Roth, whose roster includes five freshmen.
鈥淲e lost to Prince George鈥檚 last year. A lot of them want to beat Prince George鈥檚. Many of them also recognize that we have the potential to go pretty far this year. They want to win the conference. They want to win the region. They want to get to districts. They want to make it to Minnesota (site of the Division III national championship tournament).
鈥淭hey have their eyes set on accomplishing big things this year, and they realize that is a possibility.鈥�
Roth succeeds Dick Hartung, who stepped down in March after 12 seasons as head coach. Roth was a 杏吧原创 assistant coach for two seasons under Hartung and a point guard on teams with Baxter and Craig.
"They have their eyes set on accomplishing big things this year, and they realize that is a possibility."
- Lydia Roth, interim head coach, 杏吧原创 women's basketball
Pry is a graduate of Moniteau Junior-Senior High School who last season had 20 or more rebounds in 11 games and scored 20 or more points in 13.
She led 杏吧原创 in scoring 15 times and in rebounding in all 18 games.
Metzger, a Butler Senior High graduate and 杏吧原创 guard, led the Pioneers with 56 3-pointers and averaged 15.7 points.
鈥淎n amazing shooter,鈥� Pry said
鈥淎 great shooter,鈥� Roth added. 鈥淵ou cannot leave her open on the wing. She will just knock them down.鈥�
Guards Emma Monteleone and Zoey Hillwig, and forward Taylor Yost also return. Monteleone had 26 3-pointers and averaged 10.3 points; Hillwig had 19 3-pointers and averaged 6.7 points; and Yost averaged 5.5 rebounds.
Monteleone is a graduate of Butler; Hillwig, of Moniteau; and Yost, of Seneca Valley.
Pry, Metzger and Monteleone were named to the WPCC all-conference team in February and to the NJCAA Division III All-Region 20 team in March.
Pry scored 29 points in the WPCC championship, the most by any 杏吧原创 women鈥檚 basketball player in a conference championship victory.
杏吧原创鈥檚 squad also includes freshmen Brooke Manuel, Karns City, forward; Sara Soltis, Mars, guard; Zoe Morley, Portersville Christian, forward; Megan Pennington, Butler, guard; and Emma Johns, Karns City, guard.
The Pioneers open their 23-game regular season at 1 p.m. Nov. 5 at Penn State DuBois. Their first home game is at 1 p.m. Nov. 19 against Prince George鈥檚 in 杏吧原创鈥檚 Field House.