A missed shot is where Tenley O’Connor likes to go to work.
“I want to be the one to get the rebound,” she said.
The Chartiers Valley Class of 2029 forward and center likes the physical part of basketball. She’ll go after a loose ball, and she loves driving to the rim. She scored 12 points in a win over Montour as a freshman. But when you ask what her teammates can count on, she picks the boards.
SLAAM coach Steve Norman said Tenley can take over a game by getting downhill and beating her defender. “In the last year she’s added a lot to her game as a defender and shooter as well,” Norman said. “I’m excited to talk with college coaches about her this spring and summer!”
“I’ve been in the gym like my entire life,” Tenley said. A lot of that time was spent watching her dad, Ben O’Connor, coach.
Ben started at his alma mater, Keystone Oaks, worked as an assistant at Westminster College and led the boys’ programs at Fox Chapel and Bethel Park. After six seasons at Bethel Park, he stepped away from high school coaching to spend more time with his three kids. He kept coaching youth teams and returned to the high school bench at West Allegheny in 2023, where he coached for three seasons.
Tenley liked it when her dad coached her, even when it meant more work. “Especially since I’m his daughter, he would go extra hard on me,” she said. Watching him coach taught her something else: he didn’t have much patience for selfish basketball.
She’s gotten shots up on the side at his practices, and she shoots outside at home, too. Her dad makes time to work out with her even when he’s tired. Right now, she wants to add a pull-up jumper so she has another option when she puts the ball on the floor.
Tenley loves playing with her friends. She talks about how often she and her Chartiers Valley teammates hang out during the season, and how much fun it is to play with people she’s that close to. When she asked girls she knew at SLAAM what it was like, they told her they loved it. She could see how much the coaches cared about their players, and she wanted to be part of that. She joins SLAAM with Steve Norman and Bud Hurt.
“Tenley impacts the game in so many ways,” SLAAM coach Bud Hurt said. He pointed to her blocks, steals and rebounds, and to her ability to score inside and out. He’s looking forward to coaching her this season.
Tenley plays middle hitter in volleyball in the fall. Her older sister, Delaney, plays softball at Robert Morris and comes to Tenley’s games whenever she can. Her mom, Aimee, and her grandparents on both sides come to watch, too. As for her dad, Tenley says he hates to miss a game.
Delaney and Tenley’s older brother, Donovan, both used to play basketball. So who’s the best hooper in the O’Connor house?
“Me,” Tenley said. No hesitation.