Swish, Swish, Swish. That was the sound the basketball hoops made on January 5, 2023 against the Connellsville Falcons, as history was made for one Lady Wildcat.

Junior, Elle Snyder, had quite an unexpected start to the 2022-23 basketball season. In October, Snyder suffered an ankle injury that would effectively end her volleyball season, but one of her main concerns was returning to the court to help the team continue their success from the past two seasons for basketball. The injury and her recovery carried into the beginning of the season where she couldn’t return to the court. Snyder said, “It took a lot to recover and come back. I wasn’t in the greatest shape, so I had to work really hard to get back up to where I previously was.” She finally made her return on December 15, 2022 where the Lady Wildcats faced off against Oakland Catholic. Snyder played four minutes in each quarter to slowly get back into the swing of things. Although the Cats faced a tough loss to Oakland Catholic, the team knew with Snyder back, that she and they would only get better with more time on the court together.

On December 9, 2022, at the “She Got Game Classic” in Virginia, senior center and South Carolina Upstate commit, Emma Blair, suffered a torn ACL, and needed surgery, which would end her senior season. Watching Emma go down was awful for the whole team to witness, especially for Elle. “I felt so bad for her because she’s such a great player. With my ankle injury during volleyball season carrying into the beginning of basketball season, and now Emma tearing her ACL, we both came to the realization that we would never step foot on that court to play together again. This was one of the most disheartening feelings as best friends and teammates we have experienced,” said Snyder.

At this moment, Snyder knew when she came back she had to step up her game. She returned from her injury with a “never give up” mentality. “If I miss a shot, I just focus on continuing to shoot and not worrying about those past mistakes,” said Snyder. Coming back into the starting lineup, Snyder was just happy to be on the court again while playing with the team she loves like family. 

Snyder continued working hard in practices and games to “fill the big shoes of Emma Blair.” Without Blair in the lineup, Coach Mark Burkhart and his team had to find a different way to win games compared to previous years where the Lady Wildcats have been primarily led by their height on the inside of the paint. In contrast, the team has become more of a “shooting team” led by Snyder. “People don’t realize it, but as a sophomore she was the leading scorer on the team last season,” said Burkardt.

Gallery • 7 Photos

Giovanna Jones

Looking for someone open to pass to.

The one thing that has stuck with the Cats over the recent years has been their resilience and chemistry. Despite the absences of Blair and Snyder, they were 7-4 headed into the game against Connellsville. 

Someone was still missing though, Emma Blair. After Blair’s season-ending injury, Snyder told Blair, “Every game I play, and everything I’m doing is for you.” Snyder was feeling a tremendous amount of pressure. She knew it was time to step up and fill Blairs’ dominant role in rebounding and points. Thinking back to her roles in the previous years where she racked up six rebounds a game and was the highest scorer on the Lady Wildcats averaging 16 points per game. To start this season, Snyder has been shooting 48 percent from the field and the three point line. In her career, Snyder has 545 total points and is a 38 percent shooter.  “I focus on all aspects of the game from an offensive to a defensive perspective. That not only creates opportunities for myself, but also sets up opportunities for everybody else on the team,” says Snyder. This helps her to have her own success while setting her teammates up for success as well. 

The Lady Cats fell behind 8-3 early in the first quarter, but then the team began to shoot lights out and the show commenced. A 47-3 Greater Latrobe run taking a commanding lead into halftime. A majority of those points were scored behind the three-point line, and seven of them were by number 10, Elle Snyder. She had 23 at the end of the first half, getting 21 points from behind the arc, and one two-pointer. Snyder added 11 points in the second half. She drilled two more three-pointers. 

Swish, a third one to make program history.

Synder had just broken the Greater Latrobe Girls Basketball program record for the most three-pointers in a game. The record was previously held by Mandy Clevenger (2002) and Rachel Ridilla (2020), both had seven threes. Synder also tied Reed Fenton and Austin Butler for the most in both boys and girls program history.

She finished the night with an astounding 34 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Snyder’s efforts in this game isn’t only making a name for herself as a Wildcat, but also reminding everyone that she’s back and better than ever.