‘There are things that are much bigger than basketball’ is a message these players embodied
Bob Batz Jr.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
bbatz@post-gazette.com
fter traveling all the way to Connecticut for a big tournament, several girls basketball players for the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf made some passes that cost their team several points.
Some might wonder, “What were they thinking?”
Others would say it was worth it.
Let’s go to the tape.
The Western Pa. School for the Deaf Lions were opening the Eastern Schools for the Deaf Athletic Association tournament Feb. 13 in West Hartford against their host, the American School for the Deaf Tigers. Late in the fourth quarter, the Tigers were mauling them, 56-11.
With about 2 minutes remaining, the Tigers were on the attack when their No. 33 caught a long pass in the paint, turned and took a shot.
She missed.
A Lions player picked up the loose ball from the floor and looked down the court. Then she passed it right into the hands of the Tigers’ No. 33 again.
She shot it again — and missed again.
Two Lions players grabbed the rebound, and then one, No. 12, handed the ball back to No. 33, who stepped up, put it up and sank it.
What was going on?
Turns out that, just before that play, Lions coach Tommy Moyer had called a timeout. He gave his team a scouting report on the Tigers’ No. 33, whom Lions athletic director Kallie Mendenhall also knows from past competitions. In fact, Mendenhall advised the Tigers coach that they should get the ball into No. 33’s hands more.
“Just trust me,” she said.
The Tigers player’s name is Lianna. She’s a 19-year-old senior who doesn’t get a lot of playing time, but she loves to participate and cheer on her teammates. Just from watching her on the bench, coach Moyer could see she is a rare person who loves basketball as much or more than he does.
He left it up to his players, and they knew exactly what to do.
And so they did — jumping and clapping along with her surprised teammates after she made that bucket. The crowd was cheering “C’MON, LIANNA!” and clapping, too. Lianna was so happy that she bounced to center court, where she hugged one of her excited teammates before hustling back on defense.
Later, the Western Pennsylvania players made some more uncharacteristic turnovers, and Lianna took advantage to score another bucket.
The Lions lost the game 62-11. But to a lot of people in that gym, they were winners.
The Western Pennsylvania girls won the next game vs. the New York School for the Deaf – Fanwood, 37-33, and lost to Lexington School for the Deaf in the consolation championship, 20-25.
But their passing was much sharper in those games, and they played hard throughout.
When the tournament was over, they once again were awarded the tournament’s traveling trophy for sportsmanship.
Back at school in Edgewood, Lions player Bella — the school does not provide students’ last names — happily broke down her team’s fourth-quarter strategy.
“I’m like, ‘Yeah, why not?’ she says. “Kindness can get you a lot farther than winning.”
She also related how much fun they had hanging out off the court with the other players, including Lianna, who spun her around at that Saturday’s Valentine’s Day dance and sat with the Lions at lunch Sunday.
“After that,” Bella says, “we were her friends.”
WPSD posted the video of No. 33’s first field goal on its Facebook page, where Mendenhall boiled down the message on the bench during that timeout: “Sometimes in life, there are things that are much bigger than basketball.”
She lauded her girls for demonstrating “what true sportsmanship and inclusion look like” and concluded by writing, “So proud of our team for understanding that the heart of the game will always matter more than the final score.”
After KDKA-TV broadcast a segment about the game, Lianna’s mom, Melissa, weighed in from Connecticut, thanking the Pennsylvania girls “for bringing joy to my daughter during that game.”
She added: “The world needs more of this.”
The Lions girls, in grades seven through 12, are done playing for this season. But the team plans to return to next year’s ESDAA tournament, because — well, they sorta have to.
Even if they want to hang onto it, they need to bring that sportsmanship trophy.
First Published: March 4, 2026, 4:00 a.m.
Updated: March 4, 2026, 3:26 p.m.
Source: Post-Gazette.com