Trib HSSN girls basketball team of the week for Jan. 8, 2023

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, January 8, 2023 | 6:57 PM

The 2020-21 Shady Side Academy girls basketball team finished the covid-shortened season with a record of 1-10.

Less than two years later, the Bulldogs have completely turned things around.

Heading into the second week of January, they are 10-1 overall, tied for first place in Section 3-3A and are No. 2 in the latest Trib HSSN rankings.

The reasons for the about face in the SSA program is twofold.

One is the coach. Legendary district girls basketball coach Jonna Burke is in her second season at Shady Side Academy after 26 years as a head coach at Butler and her alma mater, Bethel Park.

Second is the influx of new talent. Three fabulous freshmen have played a big part in the Bulldogs’ success this season.

Maggie Spell is averaging 21.4 points per game while Karis Thomas has added 16.8 points per game to lead the way.

“Honestly, the two of them together are special,” Burke said. “I think if only one of them was on the team, things wouldn’t be the way they are. They find each other, they work well together, they alleviate pressure off the other one, teams can’t focus on one or the other. They are a really strong 1-2 punch.”

Freshman Cassie Sauer (6-foot-2) also has played a big role. She joins two older sisters on the team, 6-3 senior Cate Sauer and 6-foot junior Charlotte Sauer.

All are the daughters of former Shady Side Academy star, the late Pete Sauer.

“(Cassie) perhaps has the most potential of the three,” Burke said. “She’s been getting a lot of minutes for us. She and her sister kind of sub for each other; they are very similar. Cassie does have a little more range in her game. She can hit the mid-range jumper and put it on the floor a little bit.”

Cate Sauer led the team in scoring a year ago, when in Burke’s first season, Shady Side Academy finished 9-12 and lost in the opening round of the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs.

“Cate’s a tremendous athlete. She’s has a maturity about her and a calmness that she doesn’t really get flustered at all. Her presence on the floor is really important for us. There are a lot of little things she does that might not show up (on the stat sheet). She’s a great leader on our team.”

This past week, SSA picked up three more wins and won its first two section games with victories over Apollo-Ridge on Tuesday, 66-34, then a triumph at Burrell on Thursday, 62-34, before closing out the week with a nonsection win over Sewickley Academy, 63-29.

The win over Apollo-Ridge was a historic one for Burke, as she became the fourth active girls basketball coach to reach the 500-win plateau.

“I’ve been around 28 years, so something like this doesn’t happen overnight,” Burke said after the Vikings win. “I’ve been really lucky. I know a lot of people say that. But I’ve been really lucky over the years to have such good kids and kids who want to play hard and work hard. Kids like that I really relate to.

The Bulldogs have a challenging week ahead as they host Mt. Pleasant (9-3, 1-1) on Monday and Deer Lakes (4-8, 2-0) on Thursday.

Watch the Mt. Pleasant at Shady Side Academy game on Trib HSSN.

Tags: Shady Side Academy