WARREN, Pa. – Jayssa Snelick did it all for the District 9 Class 4A champion St. Marys Lady Dutch and in the process earned herself the YDL Sports Network District 9 girls’ basketball Player of the Year powered by Tapnpay+.
Joining Snelick as major award winners are Clearfield’s Sonny Diehl (Rookie of the Year) and St. Marys head coach Zane Adiyeh (Chuck Daly Coach of the Year). First-, second-, and third-team All-District 9 teams were also named.
Also see: D10 Girls’ Team • D9 Boys’ Team • D10 Boys’ Team
The first team includes Snelick, Moniteau’s Catherine Kelly, North Clarion’s Lily Homan, Punxsutawney’s Danielle Griebel, Redbank Valley’s Mylee Harmon, and Ridgway’s Jenna Kasmierski.
The second team consists of Brookville’s Eden Wonderling, Clearfield’s Diehl and Mia Helsel, Elk County Catholic’s Sydney Alexander, Kane’s Maya Smith, Redbank Valley’s Addy Bond, and St. Marys’ Maura Caskey. .
On the third team are Clarion’s Taylor Alston, DuBois Central Catholic’s Kayley Risser, Elk County Catholic’s Lucy Klawuhn, Emily Mourer, and Sami Straub, Port Allegany’s Ella Moses, and Smethport’s Elizabeth Hungiville.
Award winners and teams were chosen by the staff of the YDL Sports Network in consultation with a select group of District 9 coaches.
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2024 YDL SPORTS NETWORK GIRLS’ DISTRICT 9 BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR POWERED BY TAPNPAY+
Jayssa Snelick, Sr., St. Marys – Snelick ended up the second-leading scorer in District 9 at 19.7 points per game (19.68 to be exact) just 5/100th of a point behind leading scorer Lily Homan of North Clarion.
Scoring 20 or more points 13 times, including 30 twice, Snelick saw her scoring average increase 8.7 points per game from a year ago when she still led the Lady Dutch in scoring at 11.0 ppg.
But scoring wasn’t all Snelick did for the Lady Dutch, who also won a PIAA playoff game, as she added 5.8 rebounds, 3.6 steals, and 2.6 assists per contest.
Snelick finished her career with 1,146 points.
Photo by Jared Bakaysa, JB Graphics
2024YDL SPORTS NETWORK GIRLS’ BASKETBALL DISTRICT 9 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR POWERED BY TAPNPAY+
Sonny Diehl, Fr., Clearfield – Diehl, the second consecutive Clearfield player to win Rookie of the Year joining Mia Helsel (2023), burst onto the scene with a 16-point effort in her first varsity contest and never slowed down. She averaged a season double-double at 14.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game while adding 3.3 steals and 1.2 assists per contest.
Recording nine double-doubles on the season, she scored 20 or more points five times with a high of 32 and had 15 or more rebounds six times including 20 vs. Central-Martinsburg.
Sonny Diehl. Photo by RedZone Media and JB Graphics
2024 YDL GIRLS’ BASKETBALL DISTRICT 9 CHUCK DALY COACH OF THE YEAR AS PRESENTED BY THE CHUCK DALY FOUNDATION POWERED BY TAPNPAY+
Zane Adiyeh, St. Marys – Adiyeh, in his first year as the St. Marys coach, led the Lady Dutch to the D9 title for just the third time since 2011 and for the first time since 2011 when St. Marys played in a bracket with perennial D9 power Punxsutawney.
Leading the Lady Dutch to a 22-6 overall mark, Adiyeh guided St. Marys to its first PIAA win, a 40-39 win over Highlands, since 2010, and the first by a D9 4A team since 2017.
Zane Adiyeh. Photo by Jared Bakaysa, JB Graphics
About Chuck Daly: Daly was a 1948 graduate of Kane High School who started his coaching career at Punxsutawney High School (1956-63, 111 wins, D9 title in 1958 and league titles in 1958, 1962, and 1963) before moving into the college and pro ranks where he won two NBA titles with the Detroit Pistons. Daly also coached the 1992 United States Olympic “Dream Team” to a gold medal finish. He was inducted into the James Naismith National Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994. In addition to coaching the Pistons for nine years going 467-271, he spent a little under a season coaching the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1981-82 and coached the New Jersey Nets and the Orlando Magic in the 1990s. He was also the head coach at Boston College and Penn in the college ranks. The NBA continues to honor his coaching legacy with the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award given annually to a longtime NBA coach’s life in basketball and his “standard of integrity, competitive excellence and tireless promotion” of the game.
About the Chuck Daly Foundation: The Chuck Daly Foundation was formed in Punxsutawney in 2016 by 1960 PAHS graduate George “Butch” White, who played basketball under Daly. The foundation was formed primarily to create scholarships for both male and female student-athletes in both basketball and golf.
2024 YDL SPORTS NETWORK GIRLS’ FIRST-TEAM ALL-DISTRICT 9 POWERED BY TAPNPAY+
•Catherine Kelly, Sr., Moniteau: 19.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.7 spg. Scored 30 or more points 4 times and 20 or more points 11 times. Finished with 1,450 career points.
•Lily Homan, Sr., North Clarion: 19.7 ppg (1st in D9), 5.5 spg, 4.8 rpg, 3.8 apg. Scored 30 or more points 3 times and 20 or more points 11 times. Finished her career with 1,402 points split between two seasons at Venango Catholic and two seasons at North Clarion.
•Danielle Griebel, Sr., Punxsutawney: 13.0 ppg, 6.6 apg, 3.8 spg, 3.7 rpg. Had double-digit assists 7 times in 22 games. Scored 20 or more points 4 times. Hit 48 3-pointers. Finished her career with 421 assists, the most in school history.
•Mylee Harmon, Jr., Redbank Valley: 19.0 ppg, 5.3 apg, 5.2 spg, 5.2 rpg. Shot 47.8% (183 of 383) from the field. Enters her senior season with 1,422 career points.
•Jenna Kasmierski, Sr., Ridgway: 16.8 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 2.8 apg, 2.7 spg, 2.1 bpg. Scored 20 or more points 9 times. Finished her career with 1,150 points.
•Jayssa Snelick, Sr., St. Marys: See above
2024 YDL SPORTS NETWORK GIRLS’ SECOND-TEAM ALL-DISTRICT 9 POWERED BY TAPNPAY+
•Eden Wonderling, Sr., Brookville: 15.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 5.1 spg
•Mia Helsel, So., Clearfield: 15.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.3 spg
•Sonny Diehl, Fr., Clearfield: See above
•Sydney Alexander, Sr., Elk County Catholic: 11.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.8 spg, 1.3 apg
•Maya Smith,. Sr., Kane: 15.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 3.3 spg, 1.3 apg
•Addy Bond, So., Redbank Valley 13.5 ppg, 3.0 spg, 2.5 rpg, 2.3 apg
•Maura Caskey, Sr., St. Marys: 10.0 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 3.7 apg
2024 YDL SPORTS NETWORK GIRLS’ THIRD-TEAM ALL-DISTRICT 9 POWERED BY TAPNPAY+
•Taylor Alston, Sr., Clarion: 12.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg
•Kayley Risser, Sr., DuBois Central Catholic: 10.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.9 spg, 1.7 apg
•Lucy Klawuhn, Sr., Elk County Catholic: 10.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.6 rpg, 1.3 apg. Hit 77 3-pointers
•Emily Mourer, Sr., Elk County Catholic: 10.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.5 spg
•Sami Straub, Sr., Elk County Catholic: 6.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.8 apg, 2.5 spg
•Ella Moses, Jr., Port Allegany: 13.1 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 3.3 spg, 2.7 apg, 1.1 bpg
•Elizabeth Hungiville, Sr., Smethport: 13.0 ppg, 13.9 rpg, 2.2 spg, 1.9 bpg, 1.8 apg
