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C2 THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT Saturday, June 13, 2020 GIRLS HOOPS ALL-2K TEAM Conemaugh Valley High School standout Samantha Pollino faced double teams and sometimes three defend- ers throughout the 2006 PIAA Class A girls basketball champi- onship game against Pottsville Nativity BVM. The versatile Blue Jays star still managed to score 20 points and pull down four rebounds as underdog Conemaugh Val- ley battled Nativity BVM before falling 53-49 at the Giant Cen- ter in Hershey. “She was multi-talented,” Conemaugh Valley coach Teri Cruse said of Pollino, who even- tually was a four-year starter and two-time captain at NCAA Division I Duquesne University. “When you think of her, you think of her as the scorer,” Cruse said. “But there were so many games where she was also the leader in assists. She could be our point guard if we needed her to. “She’s obviously a good rebound- er. She had over 1,000 rebounds. I don’t think there is any part of the game she wasn’t good at.” Indeed. Pollino scored a whopping 2,316 career points and had 1,276 career rebounds at Conemaugh Valley, where in 2005-06 she helped the 30-3 Blue Jays win the program’s first District 6-A crown in 20 years and enjoy a magical run to the state championship game. She was named the PIAA Class A girls player of the year. The honors continue to roll in more than a decade later. Pollino is the area’s high school girls player of the centu- ry. She fronts a group of gradu- ates from 1999-2000 through the 2019-20 season who were selected by The Tribune-Dem- ocrat sports staff in conjunc- tion with area coaches, former coaches and media members, and with input from readers. “That was a cool experi- ence,” Pollino said of her time at Conemaugh Valley and the memorable 2005-06 season. “There were only nine of us on that team. Everybody was all-in. Whether they played 32 minutes or 4 minutes, every- body wanted to win. “We had a very good connec- tion. Coach Cruse did a good job of coaching and managing all of us. That’s what made us so successful. Everybody was on the same page.” ‘Live in my memory’ Pollino is a physical therapist who resides in Charlottesville, Virginia. She and husband Jack Foust welcomed a son, Henry, who was born on May 15. “We started dating our senior year in high school,” Polli- no said. “He’s been with me through all of our basketball and the state championship (game).” The Blue Jays won the West- PAC and District 6 crowns, then put together a successful state playoff run. Pollino hit two free throws with 5.9 seconds left in the PIAA Western Final (state semifinal) against Union High School at IUP Memorial Field House. She then blocked the final shot. Hershey Kisses rained down on the court as Conemaugh Valley won 46-44 and earned its first state cham- pionship game appearance. Pollino had 23 points and 12 rebounds as well as six steals and three blocks in the semifi- nal – a typical performance. “The game against Union, winning the Western Final, the end of that game will live in my memory forever,” she said. “That was so much fun. The celebration after that game and being able to go with my team- mates to the elementary school and just see the younger kids get so excited about this team was special.” ‘Whole new ballgame’ The state final was just the beginning for Pollino, who over- came a serious knee injury and played 125 games at Duquesne University, scoring 1,437 points to rank in the program’s top 10. “At the time it was very dis- appointing when I had my knee injury. I tore my ACL,” said Pol- lino, who was inducted into the Cambria County Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. “In hindsight, it was probably one of the biggest blessings in disguise of my bas- ketball career. My classes and basketball, as a freshman, I was kind of beginning to drown aca- demically. I was able to get a handle on the education side of things. Coming back as a med- ical redshirt freshman, it was a whole new ballgame.” Cruse said Pollino’s impact at Conemaugh Valley has been felt for years because she inspired ele- mentary school-aged children to play basketball and “be like Sam.” “She motivated others and she had it in herself that she was always trying to make her- self better,” Cruse said. “I think in doing that, she would make other people better. “They’d see how hard she’d work and that would inspire them to work harder.” Mike Mastovich is a sports writer for The Tribune-Demo- crat. Follow him on Twitter @masty81. Conemaugh Valley’s Pollino is region’s best in 2000s BY MIKE MASTOVICH [email protected] ‘Be like Sam’ THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT FILE PHOTO THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT FILE PHOTO THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT FILE PHOTO Sarah Bradley High school: Bishop Carroll Catholic Graduation year: 2003 Position: Center Bio: The 6-foot-1 center and two-time state champion averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds for PIAA Class A title-winning Bishop Carroll in 2002, scoring a game-high 22 in the state final en route to a second-team all-state selection. As a senior in 2003, Bradley averaged 15.5 points a game and took first-team all-state honors as the Huskies repeated as PIAA Class A champions. She played at NCAA Division I Robert Morris University and was named to the NEC All-Rookie Team in 2004. Allison Krischer High school: Richland Graduation year: 2003 Position: Guard Bio: A Class AA first-team all-state selection in 2003, Krischer scored 1,803 points and had 593 rebounds, 472 assists and 416 steals for a Rams team that claimed the District 6 title and won the LHAC from 2000-02. Krischer earned 11 letters at Richland while also playing softball, volley- ball and soccer. She scored 1,167 career points at Pitt-Johnstown. THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT FILE PHOTO Kelly Britcher High school: Westmont Hilltop Graduation year: 2007 Position: Guard/forward Bio: A two-time Class AA first-team all-state selection and member of two Westmont Hilltop state runner-up squads as a sophomore and junior, Britcher scored 1,950 career points. As a senior, she led Westmont Hilltop to the state semifinal round, averaging 20.3 points a game. She scored 712 points at Duquesne University and was part of a senior class that won a then-record 79 games. THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT FILE PHOTO Breanna Kochinsky High school: Northern Cambria Graduation year: 2010 Position: Forward Bio: A second-team Class A all-state selection as a senior in 2010, Kochinsky totaled 1,338 career points and helped Northern Cambria to state runner-up finishes in 2008 and 2010. She also was on the Colts state championship volleyball team in 2009, when Kochinsky was named MVP of the PIAA Tournament. She totaled more than 1,000 career digs in volley- ball at Clarion and St. Francis. THOMAS SLUSSER/THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT Haley Thomas High school: Bishop McCort Catholic Graduation year: 2017 Position: Guard Bio: The Crimson Crushers girls program’s all-time leading scorer helped Bishop McCort Cathollc win three District 6 titles during her sophomore, junior and senior seasons. A 2017 graduate, Thomas was a three-time all-state selection, earning first-team status as a senior, when she was named Pennsylvania Class AA Player of the Year. She scored 681 points with 153 rebounds and 144 assists in the 2016-17 season and col- lected 1,938 points and 805 rebounds in her career. Thomas started all 30 games as a junior at NCAA Division I St. Francis University this past season and has been a key contributor to the Red Flash since her freshman year. A look back at the top teams from The Tribune-Democrat’s coverage area from the past 21 seasons. State champions • Bishop Carroll Catho- lic-2002 and 2003 Class A • Berlin Brothersvalley-2019 Class A PIAA runners-up • Westmont Hilltop-2005 and 2006 Class AA • Conemaugh Valley-2006 Class A • Northern Cambria-2008 (Class AA) and 2010 (Class A) • North Star-2016 Class AA • Bishop McCort Catholic-2017 Class AA Semifinalists • Westmont Hilltop-2007 Class AA • Bishop McCort Catholic- 2008 and 2016 Class AA • Portage-2015 Class A • Bishop Carroll Catholic-2017 and 2018 Class A • Central Cambria-2019 Class AAA • Shanksville-Stonycreek-2019 Class A Area’s finest teams THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT’S PLAYER OF THE CENTURY FIRST TEAM
