Evening Sun Photo
Delone Catholic High coach Gerry Eckenrode still vividly plucks Sierra Moore's first varsity game from his memory bank.
It was at Lancaster
Catholic and the then-freshman was inserted off the bench midway through the
first quarter. In a matter of minutes, Moore registered her imprint with a pair
of athletic plays that widened Eckenrode's eyes.
Eckenrode immediately
turned to assistant coach Beth Felix and flashed a rare, toothy smile.
"This is going to
be a fun four years," the head coach said.
Though those four years
feel as if they've gone by in four hours to Eckenrode, Moore's evolution as an
electric player and sheer leader has made for a memorable ride.
Eckenrode said a player
of Moore's physical gifts and major NCAA Division I aptitude comes around
"once in a lifetime."
In her final season in a
Delone uniform, Moore ascended the Hanover-area basketball mountaintop.
The Duke-bound
McDonald's All-American stamps an unprecedented legacy as the YAIAA, Hanover
area and Delone Catholic High all-time leading scorer, compiling 2,595 career
points.
A muscle-bound 5-foot-11
wing, Moore averaged an area-best 24.7 points, spearheading Delone Catholic to
a 23-6 campaign that ended with an aching 52-50 loss to Montrose in a
foul-littered PIAA quarterfinal.
Moore, yet again, is the
All-Area Girls' Basketball Player of the Year.
"I'm honored,"
said Moore, who inked with Duke in the fall and was named a McDonald's
All-American in early February. "It's nice to get recognition, but I
couldn't have done it without my teammates."
There's a litany of
memorable postseason games in which Moore willed the Squirettes to the win,
altering the flow of the game on both ends. When the stakes soared, Moore
grabbed the driver's keys and navigated the big Delone boat deeper and deeper
into the playoffs.
Moore shouldered the
burden of senior savior in the District 3 Class AA semifinal against Lancaster
Mennonite, exploding for 24 of her game-high 28 points in the second half.
In the opening round of
the PIAA Class AA tournament at New Oxford, Moore thoroughly outdueled
Maryland-signee and former AAU teammate Tierney Pfirman of South Williamsport
in a highly-billed matchup. Moore hung 28 points, yanked in 10 rebounds and
doled out six assists en route to Delone's thorough 84-49 slaying.
Moore solidified her
status as a jack of all trades during a PIAA Class AA second-round game Milton
Hershey High School.
With a spate of
turnovers nearly frittering away Delone's double-digit lead, Moore commandeered
the ballhandling duties. Setting up her teammates, hitting the glass with
reckless abandon and pasting Pine Grove to the tune of 22 points, Moore helped
Delone impede a passionate Pine Grove rally.
The memories Moore will
store and cherish from this season don't stem from Delone's state tournament
run.
Those memories don't
spring from any sterling performance or dramatic victory.
The moment Moore learned
her invite to the McDonald's All-American Game -- a decision cloaked in secrecy
before the announcement interrupted a Feb.8 practice -- doesn't bear much
significance, either.
Taking the reins of a
fun-loving, surrogate Squirette family holds more value to Moore.
"The hard work and
effort my team and I put in means the most to me," explained Moore, who
holds a 3.5 grade-point-average and plans to major in psychology at Duke.
"The unity and
passion we gained throughout the season strengthened my faith in my team and
helped us accomplish a lot. We came out and played every game our hardest. We
did the most a hard-working team could do. I will remember the great bond our
team had and all the fun times we had at practice, laughing but also working
hard. When you can do both, you pretty much know you have a great team."
Winning the Bishop
Guilfoyle tournament for the first time in five years in a hostile environment
on Dec.30 was Delone's zenith of the regular season.
Playing for a
Philadelphia Belles team front-loaded with major Division I talent on the AAU circuit,
Moore's game has developed dramatically since the Lancaster Catholic game four
years ago.
Hoops have become a
year-round commitment, intensified by AAU trips all over the country.
A product of a
hoops-crazed family, Moore enjoys watching basketball on all levels. She
follows the NBA in religious fashion.
During her campus visit
to Duke, Moore got a chance to meet Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
Curry's younger brother, Seth, plays for the Blue Devils. Moore also met
Orlando Magic guard J.J. Redick, the former Blue Devil who was training on
campus during the NBA lockout period.
Which local boys'
basketball player would Sierra Moore challenge to a game of one-on-one?
"Parker Bean of
South Western," says Moore with a smile. "He's my boy, but I would
never let him dunk on me."