Pergola Leads Four Vikings on All-Conference Teams
CONTACT: Adam Sopris, a.sopris@hvcc.edu, (518) 629-7898 or (518) 416-2137
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Thursday, February 29, 2024
The Mountain Valley Conference basketball committee released the 2024 women's basketball all-conference teams, as voted on by the conference coaches on Thursday morning. Freshman Leah Pergola (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) led the way as four women's basketball student-athletes were recognized with the annual all-conference accolades.
Pergola was named to the All-Conference first team following her outstanding season at the Valley. Leah started all 22 games played this season and averaged team-highs with 21.9 points and 9.4 rebounds. Her 21.9 points per game ranks second in Region 3 and ninth in the NJCAA. She placed inside the top 10 regionally in points, rebounds and three-point shooting percentage. Pergola tallied 481 total points this season, which placed her seventh on the women's basketball single season scoring list. She also was not shy from shooting the three as she made at least five threes in game seven times, included two games where she hit seven from behind the arc. She surpassed 30 points in a game four times, including her career-high of 34 points in the Vikings 100-55 home win over North Country on Jan. 23.
Destiny Pipino (Albany/Guilderland) was named to the All-Conference third team. Destiny played in 18 games this season and averaged 10.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.4 steals per game. Pipino's 6.1 assists per game this season ranked first in the Region. She became only the second women's basketball student-athlete to finish a season with an assists per game ratio over 6.0 in the history of the Vikings women's basketball program. Kelly Kell finished with 6.8 assists per game in 2011-12.
Abigayle Yetto (Hoosick Falls/Tamarac) was named to the All-Conference third team following a season where she continued to excel and grew into a leading role by the end of the year. Yetto finished the year with 12.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and a team-high 4.5 steals per game. Through the first nine games of the season, Yetto, who was coming off an All-Region season with the women's soccer team, struggled while averaging 6.2 points, 3.5 assists and 4.2 steals per game. In the second half the season, Yetto's scoring exploded to 16.6 points per game in the final 13 games and the Vikings finished with an 8-5 record during that span. She also averaged 4.6 steals, 5.15 assists and 4.6 rebounds which catapulted her into all-conference recognition.
Sidney Phillips (Troy/Tamarac) was named to the All-Conference third team following the season in which she started and played in all 22 games for the Vikings. She averaged over 30 minutes a game and was the team's third leading scorer, averaging 12.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Phillips was one of two returners for the Vikings this season and helped the program to the No. 6 seed in the 2024 NJCAA Region 3 championships. In her career, Phillips has played in 42 games and accumulated 435 total points with 272 rebounds, 55 assists and 49 steals. Sidney scored a career-high 19 points in the Vikings 71-57 road win at Cayuga on Jan. 27th.
The women's basketball team finished with a 13-9 record and secured the No. 6 seed in the upcoming Region 3 championships, which is hosted by Jefferson Community College in Watertown, NY. The Vikings are scheduled to play No. 3 Mohawk Valley at 3:15 p.m. on Friday, March 1 in the McVean Center Gymnasium.