Trib HSSN girls basketball player of the week for March 24, 2025

By: Don Rebel
Monday, March 24, 2025 | 11:32 PM

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Trib HSSN girls basketball player of the week – Karis Thomas

School: Shady Side Academy

Class: Junior

Height: 5-foot-7

Position: Guard

#Earned: As freshmen and sophomores, Karis Thomas and Maggie Spell made for an awesome backcourt that helped Shady side Academy first become a district runner-up in 2023, then a WPIAL champion in 2024. However, this offseason, Spell transferred to Thomas Jefferson, leaving Thomas as the focus of opposing teams’ game plans. Thomas and the Bulldogs have shined, suffering only one loss all season, to Greensburg Central Catholic in the WPIAL Class 3A championship game. Even in that lone loss, Thomas scored 24 points for SSA. After scoring 16 points in a PIAA first-round win over Cranberry, 21 points in a second-round victory over Northwestern and 17 points as the Bulldogs ousted Camp Hill Trinity in the state quarterfinals, Thomas led the way again with 21 points as Shady Side Academy punched its ticket to Chocolate Town with a victory over Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in the state semifinals, 43-29.

Background: Thomas is wrapping up her junior year but is already getting interest to continue her basketball career in college. At the next level, she is considering all her options from a major standpoint, but has thought about nursing or sports management. While basketball has been her focus in high school, softball was her favorite sport when she was young. Her older sister Randi played high school basketball at Washington. Her father Randy was a multi-sport athlete whose favorite sport was baseball. Thomas scored 401 points during the regular season, averaging 18.2 points per game. She has been the Bulldogs’ leading scorer in all seven district and state playoff games, including a 46-point performance in a WPIAL 3A semifinal victory over Ellwood City.

What coach says: “I could tell that Karis really wanted that game,” Shady Side Academy coach Jonna Burke said about her performance against OLSH in the district semifinals. “Her energy was different. She stepped up her game which has already been at an elevated level.”

“She is just remarkable,” Burke said. “The things she can do with the ball aren’t typical for high school players. She has ridiculous ballhandling ability, which allows her to push the ball and control the ball like no one I’ve ever coached before. She is quick to get in lanes and to help on defense, and if left open, she is a lights-out shooter.”

“She has improved defensively from her sophomore year, leading our team in steals,” Burke said. “But probably the most significant area of improvement is just her belief in herself, which has really allowed her to have more confidence, which has made her more aggressive.

“Karis has been a leader on this team since she was a freshman,” Burke said. “Her abilities on the court make her a natural leader. She is someone who everyone looks up to. I call her the purple unicorn.”

2025 Trib HSSN Girls Basketball Players of the Week

Week 11 – Brady Wehner, North Catholic

Week 10 – Payton Newman, Neshannock

Week 9 – Erica Gribble, Greensburg Central Catholic

Week 8 – Carla Brown, Aliquippa

Week 7 – Greta O’Brien, Avonworth

Week 6 – Kylie Fruehstorfer, Union

Week 5 – Aubree Hupp, Blackhawk

Week 4 – Emma Larkin, Geibel Catholic

Week 3 – Rylee Kalocay, Upper St. Clair

Week 2 – Iyanna Wade, Clairton

Week 1 – Oumou “Mimi” Thiero, Quaker Valley

Tags: Shady Side Academy