Teammates renew friendship as rivals on the court
Uniontown Area High School graduates Kelsey Sleighter (left) and Mallory Sanner were on opposing teams during Saturday’s game between Pitt-Johnstown and Seton Hill in Greensburg. Sleighter plays for Pitt-Johnstown, while Sanner suits up for Seton Hill.
Holly Tonini
Former Uniontown Area High School teammates Kelsey Sleighter (left) and Mallory Sanner share a laugh as they meet on the side of the court before coming into the game as substitutes during Saturday's contest in Greensburg.
Seton Hill's and former Uniontown standout Mallory Sanner makes a two-point shot during the second half of a Saturday's game against Pitt-Johnstown in Greensburg.
Pitt-Johnstown's Kelsey Sleighter, a former student Uniontown Area High School player, dribbles the ball around Seton Hill's Paige Alviani during Saturday's game in Greensburg.
A nod, a friendly smile, a high five, some mild bantering, and an accidental courtside meeting eliciting another smile.
There was more than West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings at stake Saturday afternoon in Greensburg when Seton Hill University’s Lady Griffins hosted the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Lady Mountain Cats in a women’s Division-2 college basketball game.
In a tightly-contested game not decided until game’s final two-and-one-half minutes, the visiting Mountain Cats (8-7, 6-6) prevailed 56-50 in the squads’ first meeting of the season — they won’t meet again until the final conference game of the season on February 23.
Also at stake were local bragging rights as a pair of former standout Uniontown High School grads and teammates — Seton Hill’s Mallory Sanner and UPJ’s Kelsey Sleighter — faced each other for the third time in two seasons, and first time this year.
Both players came off their respective benches, Sleighter at the 17:01 mark of the first half and Sanner, a 5-10 guard/forward wearing no. 24, when the clock reached 14:40, and each scored scored two points in the game. Sleighter’s points came via a pair of free throws 3:44 into the game. Fouled driving to the basket, her points gave the Mountain Cats a 6-4 lead. Sanner waited until the second half to score. Her 12-foot baseline jumper at 13:14 of the period pulled the Lady Griffins (10-7, 7-4) to within five points, 38-33.
Sleighter, a true sophomore and Sanner, a redshirt soph who broke a foot as a freshman, are understudies, unlike their days with the Lady Red Raiders when Sleighter, a 2011 Uniontown grad, became the school’s second all-time lead scorer with 1,245 career points, earning all-section, all-WPIAL, and all-state honors. Sanner, who graduated in 2010, missed half her junior season with a torn ACL. She earned all-county honors in her freshman, sophomore, and senior seasons.
Sanner, an Elementary Education major, selected Seton Hill in part because of its close proximity to home.
“Seton Hill has a small campus and I liked everything about the school when I visited,” she said, “and the basketball program was very welcoming. Seton Hill is a fun place to be.”
While Sanner is biding her time with the Lady Griffins on the hardwood, she has already made her mark in school track and field history. Last May she participated in the D-2 National Championships in Colorado, finishing fifth in the nation in the javelin to become Seton Hill’s first track All-American. Ironically, Sanner works in the school’s Sports Information Office for another Uniontown grad, Jason Greene, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications.
Seton Hill coach Ferne Labati referred to Sanner, who averaged 3.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per game last year and is averaging 5 points and 4 rebounds this season, as “a spark for us off the bench. She is a tremendous athlete, works extremely hard and is a competitor. She can shoot the three or go to the hoop and will definitely help us down the stretch. In addition to her offense, she is a strong defender and rebounder, a complete player.”
Now 0-3 against UPJ and Sleighter, Sanner smiled at the thought.
“There is a rivalry between Seton Hill and Pitt Johnstown because of our conference,” Sanner said, “and Kelsey and I are both competitive and like to play against each other. We see each other in Uniontown in the off-season and hang out together. Even though we’re at different schools, our friendship is as strong as it was in high school and we keep in touch when we are at school. Kelsey was obviously a year behind me in high school and I enjoyed being teammates with her. She is a great person and teammate and I have a lot of respect for her as a person and player. She was quiet on the court but she got it done. She was always fun to be around. It was like old times today seeing her on the court and that helps to renew the friendship. As a team, I know we can do better. It was ugly at times out there today and we have to be more mentally tough the remainder of the season.”
Their friendship was evident Saturday when the pair had an impromptu courtside meeting in front of the scorer’s table at 14:27 of the second half, both entering the game at the same time. As Sanner slid to the floor from her bench left of the scorer’s table, Sleighter, a 5-7 guard who wears number 10, was mirroring her former teammate, sliding to the floor from the right. Looking up at the same time, they smiled in time for the buzzer signaling their return to the game.
As freshman, Sleighter averaged 8.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. She has upped her numbers this season to 6.9 points and 1.8 rebounds and is second on team with 18 three-point field goals. She has hit for a career-high 16 points on two occasions.
“Kelsey mostly plays as our sixth man, giving us that valuable spark off the bench,” UPJ coach Sasha Palmer said. “She is one of the key components of our team and has been doing more rebounding lately, something we are looking to her to do. But she can also hit the three and keep defenses honest.”
A Civil Engineering major, Sleighter found the academics, program, staff and players at UPJ to her liking.
“I like it here,” she said. “Our team is close and that makes it more fun. We started slow this season but we have won five of our last six games and are playing better as a team. We struggled at times today but we hit some key shots at the end.”
Like Sanner, Sleighter has fond memories of her days at Uniontown.
“Mallory and I have been playing basketball together for about 10 years, dating to elementary school, and we’ve always been close friends,” Sleighter said. “We’re both strong competitors and we both like to win. Being opponents now, there is definitely a rivalry, but it’s a friendly rivalry and more of a rivalry since we wear different uniforms. Having played together in high school adds more significance to the game and it’s always fun seeing her and playing against her, but the friendship is what counts when the game is over.”