There was a celebrity in the Dallastown Area High School gymnasium on Monday night.
Penn State women’s basketball coach Rene Portland was on hand to watch her newly signed recruit, Red Lion’s Meggan Quinn, play against Delone Catholic in the YAIAA tournament semifinals.
The Lions won, 57-51.
Quinn, a senior guard who is Red Lion’s all-time leading scorer, signed her national letter of intent to play at Penn State on Nov. 9, 2005.
“Coach (Portland) called me today and said, ‘Meggan, you’re already a Lady Lion, so don’t be nervous tonight when I show up for the game. Just shoot well and pretend I’m not here,� Quinn said after the game. “Coach told me to shoot well tonight and I didn’t have a very good first half.
“I think it was the jitters, but I ultimately knew that tonight’s game is like any other, and I had to find a way to score.�
Quinn has previously said that she intends to major in criminal justice at Penn State.
On Monday, however, the focus was advancing to the YAIAA championship game. Quinn will have a chance to go out as a four-time winner of the league tournament when the Lions face York Catholic on Wednesday night.
Next season, Quinn will join a rebuilding Penn State squad is going through some growing pains this season. The Lady Lions, who are usually nationally ranked, are struggling with an 11-13 overall mark and a 5-8 record in the Big Ten.
Portland, meanwhile, said she couldn’t officially comment on Quinn, but, unofficially, she said she was “all smiles.�
Quinn’s 25-point performance in a winning effort probably had something to do with that.
I think Meggan has worked very hard for what she has acheived. It is normal for any person to get a little bit nervous when your college coach is coming to watch you, but Meggan has been a key in the Lady Lions' success over the last couple of years. We should all be proud of the succesfull athletes that York County is producing...best of luck to Meggan.