I know we talked women’s basketball in my column last week, but when players deserve recognition, I am not one to deprive them of that.

This week – Michelle Burns.

Fun fact – once upon a time, I was an opponent of Burns myself. I played for Butler Area Senior High School three years ago, and Burns is an alum of Hempfield High School. Back in the day, Butler and Hempfield played each other at least once a year, usually in pre- or post-season contests.

Since then, obviously one of us has been a little more successful on the court than the other.

She is only a sophomore now, but she has already led the Pioneers to multiple successes in her time here, including a trip to the River States Conference (RSC) Tournament Quarterfinal last year at Alice Lloyd College.

In an extended list of impressive achievements, her most recent comes in the form of last Thursday’s game against Brescia University.

Not only did she have a career-high 31 points, but she did so with a seven for seven output from beyond the arc and a six for six showing from the charity stripe.

You know who else has a career-high of 31 points? Sam Weir. A senior. A Hall of Fame-worthy senior.

It is incredibly impressive in general to have a perfect showing when it comes to shooting threes, but even more impressive to do so while racking up a career-high in points that ties the career-high of arguably the best player on the team. Even yet, it is that much more impressive to do so as a sophomore.

So far this season, Burns is averaging 14 points per game, a one-point increase from last season and second on the team behind Weir’s 14.7 points per game.

Her average places her eighth in the RSC for overall points per game, but she sits third in the RSC for assists per game with 3.71.

Although she sits second on the team for points per game, she has a clear lead for most points on the Pioneers with 295 total points this season. Second to her is captain Kaitlyn Smith’s 261.

She does not just perform offensively though, securing 75 defensive rebounds and 91 total rebounds this season so far, improving 22 and 18 rebounds in each category, respectively.

Additionally in the defensive category, Burns ranks 14th in the RSC standings for most steals per game, averaging 1.67.

Burns is a spitfire on the court and is one of my favorites to watch play the game. As only a sophomore, she has such a natural leadership about her that has guided the Pioneers to eight victories so far this season and 17 last season.

I am excited to see how she progresses in the second half of her time in the green and gold and even more excited to continue to report on her various accomplishments.