Jan 23, 2017 9 min read

WAYNESBURG – When the women’s preseason basketball rankings in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference were released a couple months ago, Bethany College was listed seventh.

The Bison entered the season with only two experienced scorers, a new coach and only eight players on the roster.

After a win at Waynesburg University Saturday, the Bison had a 9-8 overall record and were in second place in the PAC at 7-3.

That was quite a change from the first half of the season, when the Bison started 4-7 and 2-2 in the conference.

The difference?

Sammie Weiss transferred to Bethany.

Before Weiss arrived on campus as a transfer from California, Kelsea Daugherty and Hayley Holenka were scoring in double digits regularly but were the only Bethany players to do so.

Once Weiss arrived, everything changed.

The McGuffey High School graduate accepted a basketball scholarship at California University in her senior season. It seemed a perfect fit as the Vulcans were in the process of winning the NCAA Division II national championship.

Weiss was one of the best girls’ basketball players in WPIAL history and the best in Washington County history. She scored 2,390 points in her career, breaking McGuffey’s school record, while averaging 25.9 points per game as a senior in 2014-15.

Cal made it back to the NCAA Tournament in Weiss’ freshman season, but she rarely played, seeing action in 15 games, playing 74 minutes and scoring 27 points.

”Last year was discouraging,” Weiss said. “I played every game in high school and I’m going to Cal, and I didn’t get the playing time that I was happy with. It was discouraging. All I wanted to do was play.”

Weiss knew there would be a learning curve but she began to question her choice of California.

”I’m not taking away from anyone at Cal,” she said. “They were awesome, they were all really great basketball players, and I loved playing with every single one of them.”

But she kept asking her self these two questions: “Am I happy?” and “Am I having fun?”

”There were times last year where I wasn’t having fun, but at the same time, we were winning and we won (the PSAC conference) and that was fun,” Weiss said. “But I would rather play than sit on the bench, and I don’t care where. I just wanted to play.”

She decided to stay at Cal and participated in the preseason practices.

A week before Cal’s first game, Weiss decided she wanted to transfer. She talked to her coach, then her teammates. That was the hardest part, she said.

”They were kind of upset,” she said. “I think they understood why, though.”

After getting her release, she began looking for another school. Bethany College always was in the back of her mind.

Weiss’ older sister Cassie is a junior at Bethany and a two-time all-PAC first-team pitcher on the softball team.

Sammie Weiss played softball, as well, at McGuffey and plans to do so at Bethany. She said after the basketball season ended last year she realized how much she missed softball and her sister.

”I’ve been a two-sport athlete since I was in grade school. When I went to Cal, it was just basketball, basketball, basketball,” Weiss said. “But when it came to the end of the year and the postseason, and Cassie would have her games, I missed softball. I like playing with Cassie. She’s really good and it was fun watching her, but it’ll be more fun playing with her.”

Weiss is listed as a catcher-infielder on the roster. After Bethany received the paperwork for her release, head basketball coach Brian Sansom brought her down for a visit. She watched a practice and a game and got to hang out with the team.

”She was comfortable with my team and myself, and she watched a game and she was comfortable with our system,” Sansom said.

Sansom is in his first year as Bethany’s head coach and didn’t know much about Weiss until she decided to transfer.

”Once word got out that she might have some interest in transferring here, and you do the research and look at the type of career she had in high school, you get pretty excited about having a player like that join your program,” Sansom said. “Once word got out that she had interest, everyone told me that I would be getting a great player. That makes you excited as a coach, especially a first-year guy having someone else come in and contribute for you.”

Weiss settled on Bethany at the end of November, but she couldn’t play until the first semester ended.

The Bison are 5-1 since Weiss got cleared to play Dec. 19, and those six game made up the toughest stretch of Bethany’s season.

In Weiss’ first game, the Bison traveled to St. Vincent – one of the top teams in the conference. Bethany won, and Weiss had 13 points in 22 minutes.

Weiss doesn’t know the entire playbook yet, but Sansom said her talent is worth the occasional mental mistake.

In a win against Thiel, she came off the bench and scored eight points. Weiss then played a vital role in Bethany’s upset at Washington & Jefferson, coming off the benxh and scoring a game-high 23 points in the 79-73 win.

”I wasn’t truly surprised by it,” Sansom said. “She’s had some practices with us leading up to games where she just lights us up in practice. She can go out in practice and make six or seven straight hoops. I knew she was capable of that. I know she’s a gamer, and she wants the ball in those situations.”

It was Bethany’s first win over W&J since 2012.

”I didn’t realize that they hadn’t beaten W&J for a while,” Weiss said. “I knew the team didn’t like W&J and wanted to beat them. We went in there and did it, and I think we surprised them.”

In her first start, Weiss scored 10 points in a road loss to Grove City. She followed with a double-double against Chatham: 10 points, 10 rebounds and three steals in an 83-78 win.

On Saturday against Waynesburg, she scored 23 points. The win over Waynesburg was the first for Bethany since 2011. Waynesburg, like St. Vincent and W&J, was projected to be one of the top teams in the conference.

Bethany’s “three-headed monster” – as Sansom calls Weiss, Daugherty and Holenka – scored 68 of Bethany’s 76 points in the win.

”She’s been a great addition; no doubt she gives us another starter,” Sansom said. “Daugherty and Holenka are our main kids, and that isn’t a secret to anybody. To add that third kid who can put the ball in the hoop for you, it makes us tougher to defend where you can’t just take away two people because you have to guard a third one.”

Weiss is averaging 14.5 points in her six games with the second-place Bison.

”St. Vincent, W&J and Waynesburg are consistently at the top every year,” Sansom said. “For us to be up there, adding her with the team we already have, I think she gives us another opportunity to play at that level with W&J, Waynesburg and St. Vincent.”