Slagus Sisters: Belle Vernon’s Dynamic Duo
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Belle Vernon graduate Kaitlyn Slagus (50) is shown during her playing days at Bucknell University.
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Belle Vernon graduate Jessica Slagus throws the javelin during track & field season at Seton Hill University.
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Kaitlyn Slagus scored 1,360 points in her basketball career at Belle Vernon.
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Jessica Slagus scored 1,133 points in her basketball career at Belle Vernon.
Belle Vernon girls basketball spawned a dynamic duo in the Slagus sisters, Jessica and younger sister Kaitlyn, who were 1,000-point scorers during their playing days with the Leopards.
无毛视频淢y dad called us a dynamic duo,无毛视频� Jessica Slagus laughed.
Both sisters got an early start in athletics.
无毛视频淢y parents did a great job of trying to diversify us,无毛视频� Jessica said, 无毛视频渢rying to let us pick what we really loved from track to basketball, softball, everything. I kind of honed in on basketball. I started playing basketball in The Rec League in third grade when my dad coached me, and then in middle school I did track as well, but I just did track and basketball.无毛视频�
无毛视频淲e played since we were very young,无毛视频� Kaitlyn explained. 无毛视频淲e did everything!无毛视频�
Jessica starred on Belle Vernon teams that posted records of 14-9 in 2009-10 with a loss to Mars 47-46 in the WPIAL playoffs and 10-11 in 2010-11. Joined by sister Kaitlyn in 2011-12 the Leopards finished 13-12 and lost to Hopewell in the playoffs, 60-24. In Jessica无毛视频檚 senior season the Leopards went 17-13 and notched a playoff win over Greensburg Salem, 60-41, and then lost to Blackhawk, 71-46.
无毛视频淢y last two years of high school were my favorite,无毛视频� Jessica offered. 无毛视频淢y sister definitely had an impact on that.
无毛视频淚 feel like we had a great connection on the court, but also off the court. She无毛视频檚 my best friend to this day, and I felt like playing basketball together we无毛视频檇 go to practice together and we were always together.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚t was a lot of fun,无毛视频� Kaitlyn said. 无毛视频淛essica was two years older than me. To play with her those two years were two of the highlights of my basketball career.无毛视频�
Jessica played her first two seasons at BVA under Tim Keller and then played under coach Lisa Fairman.
无毛视频淭he coaching change for me personally went well,无毛视频� Jessica stated. 无毛视频淚t was a breath of fresh air and I feel like the whole team kind of needed that, and it was the same year my sister came in. So between my freshman year and my junior year it was like a completely different team.无毛视频�
When Belle Vernon lost to Blackhawk it was traumatic because one sister, Jessica, was moving on to college.
无毛视频淵ou don无毛视频檛 realize how bittersweet it无毛视频檚 going to be in the moment,无毛视频� Kaitlyn recalled. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 one of those things you never want to end.无毛视频�
The 6-foot Jessica finished her Belle Vernon hoops career with 1,133 points which is No. 3 on the all-time list at BVA. She also grabbed 865 career rebounds. She was Class AAA All-State third team and named to the Tribune-Review Terrific 10.
Jessica also excelled in track and field throwing the javelin which would be a big plus for her in college. She holds the Belle Vernon school record in the javelin at 119 feet, 1 inch.
无毛视频淚 did enjoy track and field,无毛视频� Jessica said. 无毛视频淚 threw the javelin and I feel it was a good offset from basketball because my family is basketball driven. My dad coached in the AAU and I credit my parents with all of our success.
无毛视频淭hey drove us thousands of miles to all these games and tournaments and they spent god only knows how much money, but they wouldn无毛视频檛 have had it any other way. Track gave me a kind of break both mentally and physically from basketball. It was a good change of pace.无毛视频�
Jessica reflected on the recruiting process after she graduated from Belle Vernon in 2013.
无毛视频淭he recruiting process was interesting,无毛视频� Jessica explained. 无毛视频淚 think being the oldest my parents didn无毛视频檛 know what to expect. I remember visiting a lot of schools. It was a long process and I knew in my heart I wanted to stay close to home because I have two younger sisters. I was fortunate enough to get a good offer from Seton Hill.无毛视频�
Jessica didn无毛视频檛 have the career she wanted in basketball at Seton Hill.
无毛视频淭he coach that I played basketball for was not the one that recruited me,无毛视频� Jessica lamented. 无毛视频淚 feel like in high school basketball was my No. 1 sport and then in college I was very fortunate to be on the track team as well because that was my saving grace from the basketball situation.
无毛视频淚 was recruited by Ferne Labati and signed with her,无毛视频� Jessica added. 无毛视频淢ark Katarski took over about a week before I started my freshman year. That was not an ideal situation, but we made the best of it.无毛视频�
Jessica played three seasons for Seton Hill, scoring 41 points and grabbing 62 rebounds on teams that went 13-14 in 2013-14, 12-17 in 2014-15 and 14-15 in 2015-16.
无毛视频淭he basketball career wasn无毛视频檛 what I hoped it would be,无毛视频� Jessica said. 无毛视频淭here were five other girls in my class. Basketball was tough. Track & field was my saving grace.无毛视频�
Jessica earned second-team All-American honors in track and field and also was named an Academic All-American as a sophomore, She finished 10th in the javelin at the NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships as a sophomore.
无毛视频淏asketball wasn无毛视频檛 what I thought it was going to be when I signed.无毛视频� Jessica said. 无毛视频淏ut track was great and I was able to come out of there with virtually no debt and a great education. I went on to grad school at Shenandoah University and got a Masters in Occupational Therapy.无毛视频�
Meanwhile younger sister Kaitlyn was doing great things at Belle Vernon. The Leopards were 10-12 her junior year in 2013-14 and 16-7 in 2014-15, losing to Peters Township in the playoffs, 46-45.
The 6-foot-1 Kaitlyn ended her Belle Vernon career with 1,360 points and 1,020 rebounds. She was named Post-Gazette Fabulous Five, Tribune-Review Terrific 10 and to the 无毛视频-Standard All-Area First Team. She also lettered in track and field for three years.
无毛视频淚 look back on high school with a great deal of pride,无毛视频� Kaitlyn stated. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 kind of funny my mom would always joke that every time I无毛视频檇 get the ball she would always close her eyes because (she thought) I was either going to walk or turn it over. She told me after I graduated. It无毛视频檚 funny knowing how I started and then my career and where it went and what I was able to accomplish.无毛视频�
Sister Jessica remembers the gangly Kaitlyn as a young player.
无毛视频淗er freshman year in high school she couldn无毛视频檛 walk and chew gum,无毛视频� Jessica laughed. 无毛视频淏ut she went on to Bucknell and played in Ireland and is back where it all started. I无毛视频檓 really proud of her.无毛视频�
When Kaitlyn graduated from Belle Vernon she was a highly sought after college recruit.
无毛视频淚 was indecisive in recruiting,无毛视频� Kaitlyn said. 无毛视频淚 went to a lot of schools for visits. I went to Bucknell and my parents thought it would be a good fit. I took a leap of faith, my parents were going to guide me no matter what. My parents had a lot of influence with me choosing Bucknell and I无毛视频檓 glad the way it all worked out.无毛视频�
Kaitlyn flourished at Bucknell on teams that posted records of 25-8 in 2015-16, 27-6 in 2016-17, 22-10 in 2017-18 and 28-6 in 2018-19.
无毛视频淚t was a lot of fun,无毛视频� Kaitlyn explained. 无毛视频淲e weren无毛视频檛 picked to do much of anything my freshman year. I had pneumonia in the preseason and we were young. We had a lot of injuries and our freshman class got to play and that propelled us to a great four-year period. I had awesome teammates.
无毛视频淎 lot of hard work. I was fortunate to make it through with no injuries. I think I missed one half of a game my whole career.无毛视频�
The numbers and accomplishments speak for themselves.
Kaitlyn tallied 1,487 points, seventh place on Bucknell无毛视频檚 all-time scoring list, and snatched 949 rebounds, which is No. 1 in school history. She had 150 career blocks for the Bison and that is No. 2 in school history. She was a three-time All Patriot League selection, first team as a senior and second team as a junior and a sophomore. She was named 2016 Patriot League Rookie of the Year and MVP in the 2019 Patriot League Tournament.
Kaitlyn was a 10-time Patriot League Player of the Week and five-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week. She had 30 career double-doubles and received the Christy Mathewson Award as Bucknell无毛视频檚 top senior female athlete .
She had a great relationship with the Bucknell coaching staff.
无毛视频淚 do have a great relationship with coach Aaron Roussell and some of his assistants,无毛视频� Kaitlyn stated. 无毛视频淲e still talk to this day. All of my coaches are now at the University of Richmond. It无毛视频檚 been fun following them.无毛视频�
Jessica is now a Occupational Therapist at Greenwood Regional Rehabilitation Hospital Greenwood, South Carolina.
Kaitlyn is in her third season coaching Belle Vernon girls basketball and so far this season has guided the Leopards to a 12-6 overall record and an 8-1 mark in section play.
无毛视频淗onestly I didn无毛视频檛 think about coaching when I was done at Bucknell,无毛视频� Kaitlyn offered. 无毛视频淚 played overseas in Ireland. I want to stay involved a little. I actually had an assistant coaching job lined up. Then the Belle Vernon job opened up. I was 22 at the time and I无毛视频檓 fortunate the way things worked out.无毛视频�
Kaitlyn has come full circle back to her roots.
无毛视频淚 mention that all the time, it无毛视频檚 like I started here,无毛视频� Kaitlyn stated. 无毛视频淭hen I kind of went on with my career and now I无毛视频檓 back here on the sidelines. I无毛视频檓 really fortunate to be in the position I am in. Getting to coach the girls at Belle Vernon, they are an awesome group and it无毛视频檚 funny because as a player going into my senior year I would come back over the summer and play pick up with these girls, but I was just another alumni at college and I wasn无毛视频檛 really their coach. Now I无毛视频檓 fortunate to be able be on the sidelines here at my alma mater and lead the program that started me out on my career.无毛视频�
The Slagus sisters along with other 1,000-point scorers from Belle Vernon basketball history will be honored Feb. 10 at halftime of the Belle Vernon boys basketball game against Elizabeth Forward.
George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频淢emory Lane无毛视频� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 无毛视频-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.