State College girls’ basketball is optimistic about its future under first-year coach Alli Mock
Alli Mock feels it every time she walks into State College Area High School’s gym. It’s a pressure — a responsibility almost.
Mock, who played on State College’s varsity girls’ basketball team from 2002-05, is in her first year as head coach of the Lady Little Lions. The State College native was developed by legendary coach Bethany Irwin — who compiled a 433-216 overall record before retiring in 2016 — during her time as a player. So now, she wants to do what she can to get the program back to its winning ways.
After nights like Wednesday, though — when State College fell to Central Dauphin High School, 66-21, on its home court — she knows that will be far from an overnight process. But she’s OK with that.
“We obviously were outmatched tonight, and that’s fine,” Mock said after the loss. “We just wanted to continue to tell them to battle and play hard, fight to the best of their abilities.”
The Lady Little Lions are now 3-8 in a season that’s had plenty of challenges. In addition to the hurdles that have come with the coronavirus pandemic, former head coach Chris Leazier left the program last fall to join the North Carolina women’s basketball staff and the team returned none of its starters from last season. All of these factors combined to make this season a rocky one for Mock as she transitioned from assistant to head coach.
Still, Mock has found a way to keep her group’s morale up.
“Every practice, she really encourages us to work hard and play as a team,” said freshman guard Carley Donnell, who was the Lady Little Lions’ second-leading scorer on Wednesday with six points. “If anyone has a rough day, anyone can talk to her. She just makes practice fun, but also tough at the same time.”
With 10 of its 17 players freshmen or sophomores, the squad is also fairly young.
Senior forward Megan Lieb — one of only five State College players to score against Central Dauphin — is optimistic about the future of the program with Mock continuing to develop talent.
“I think we’re just taking it one game at a time,” Lieb said. “And we’re just trying to really fight and play our best. We understand that some of (our opponents) are really, really good and really, really skilled, and I think we have time in the future to grow toward that level.”
When Donnell drilled back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter, the game was already well out of reach. But, as her teammates on the bench cheered, it was obvious that the group is trusting the process and enjoying being in the moment.
Donnell said it’s that sort of attitude — fueled by “a need to stay together” — that Mock has emphasized all season long.
So, sure, it’s going to take time, but no one within the Lady Little Lions program has an ounce of doubt that Mock can do what she set out to do when she first took over as head coach.
And that’s really all that matters for now.
“There’s been a lot of really great coaches before me, so it’s an awesome position to be in,” Mock said. “And I want to try to start to build this program to live up to the people that I learned from.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 8:00 AM.
