Seneca's Snow is girls' player of year

The labels are fitting and accurate:

Most successful player in the eight-year history of Seneca girls' basketball. Leader of the best team the program has had.

To some, those are badges, worn and flaunted. To Brittany Snow, they're just words.

The senior, this year's Inquirer South Jersey Player of the Year in girls' basketball, doesn't dwell on celebrations or pomp or praise.

She remembers battling players under the basket and eking out close wins. She remembers her sister Erica's buzzer-beater, from just inside half-court, to beat Lenape. She talks about how much her team wanted to win a sectional title, the school's first, and the wars the players went through this season to earn it.

"There's really no other way to describe it - I love playing basketball," said Snow, a 6-foot center. "I love the challenge of playing against a girl who you know is going to be tough. I like it when we're down and when we're fighting and everyone is working hard. Those are the moments that I remember most."

Snow averaged 17.4 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots this season. She led the Golden Eagles to a 25-5 record, a 10-0 mark in the Olympic Conference National Division, and the program's first sectional Group 3 title. She finished her career with 1,401 points, a Seneca record.

More than that, she was part of a Golden Eagles core that coach Sean Kennevan said will set the tone for Seneca basketball for years to come.

The Golden Eagles' style of play was quickly apparent to anyone who watched them. There were infectious energy, intensity, physicality and, as Snow said, an obvious love of the game.

With each playoff game, the Seneca student section grew larger and louder, latching on to the atmosphere created by the Golden Eagles.

"That was our seniors - the student body really rallied around this group of seniors," said Kennevan, a teacher at Seneca. "They're just good kids; they're good people on and off the court. They're people who others want to be around. People watched this team play, saw how hard they worked, and wanted to be around it.

"And that's going to help this program going forward, and Brittany was obviously a big part of that. She was great for Seneca basketball."

Snow, who will move on to play for Division I Stony Brook, spent this season grappling with double and sometimes triple teams. Opponents knew she was physical, and most tried in vain to match Snow's style.

Box-and-ones, triangle-and-twos, Snow saw it all this season, and worked every day to beat that pressure.

"She's such a warrior, and she plays with so much pride. She knows how to handle herself in any situation," Kennevan said. "She did face a lot of pressure this season, and she really had to earn everything she achieved.

"But she's a joy to coach because she works so hard at everything she does. She's a role model for younger athletes. She shows that if you work hard, it will pay off."

Snow noted that having talented teammates eased the pressure on her this year, giving her confidence in every game she played.

But Kennevan, who called Snow "one of the most unselfish players I've ever coached," said that Snow's style helped other players excel.

For Snow, that was one of the best parts of her senior season.

"This year was amazing," Snow said. "We were all so close. We all contributed. That's what I'm going to miss.

"We wanted to win a sectional title so bad this year. And every single girl went at it as hard as they could to get it, and we made it happen."