Together Again
JACKSON TWP — Olivia West’s junior season on Seneca Valley’s girls basketball team was a productive one.
She turned in a solid individual effort with 15.3 points and six rebounds per game, but there was something, or someone, missing.
Point guard Jess Bickart, who had started as a sophomore, missed all of last year with a broken right wrist. Her absence forced West to play the point much of the season and SV struggled to a 3-14 record.
The former returned this season and has made a huge impact on West’s output and, most importantly, the team’s fortunes.
Paced by West’s nearly 20 points per game, the Raiders (11-8 overall) are 8-5 in section play and have clinched a WPIAL playoff berth entering the Section 1 finale Thursday at Butler.
“I was super-pumped for this season, knowing Jess was coming back and we’d be playing our senior year together,“ West said. ”We both play AAU for Slaam and have been teammates since the fifth grade.“
With the responsibilities that come with playing point guard lifted from her shoulders, West has excelled in multiple roles this season.
“We’ve moved her inside and outside, depending on our opponent,” said SV coach Dorothea Epps. “Against North Allegheny (a 61-56 loss Monday), we knew they couldn’t match up with her inside, so we put her in the post.”
West responded with a 36-point effort, using several post moves to frustrate the Tigers.
“I play mostly in the post in AAU ball and was able to work on things there,” said West, who was SV’s top player off the bench as a freshman before moving into a starting role her sophomore year. “When girls collapse on me, I know to look for an open teammate.”
But she has made her share of contested shots inside while also being able to step out and hit from the outside.
“I wasn’t much of a threat shooting 3s as a freshman and sophomore, but started getting comfortable out there last year,” added West, who is also grabbing seven rebounds per contest.
As for Bickart, who’s averaging 11 points per game while running the offense, she’s relishing being back on the court.
“I tried to help when I could last year, giving advice, but it was really tough sitting out and just watching the team,” she said. “Even when I’m not scoring, I feel like I’m contributing with assists and rebounds.”
The Raiders are averaging 49.1 points per game, over 10 more than they managed last year. Bickart’s play has undoubtedly affected the increased production.
“The offense is more fluid now,” Epps said. “What a difference it makes when you have a true point guard out there running things.”
Bickart said she feels most comfortable at shooting guard, but “Point guard is where the team needs me. I’ve been playing there since middle school, so I’m used to the position.”
West and Bickart have also sparked the Raiders on defense. The team is allowing just 42.8 points per game.
Both players will continue their basketball careers in college, West at Columbus State University in Georgia and Bickart at Allegheny College. But they both aim to help the Raiders end a 16-year drought.
SV has not won a playoff game since beating Hempfield in a WPIAL first-round meeting in February 2006.
“Being part of the team that ends that streak would mean everything to me,” said Bickart. “We definitely have a chance to do it this year.”
