Conley voted Prep Athlete of the Week

SEELEY LAKE – Seeley-Swan High School Junior Aspen Conley was voted Missoulian's Prep Athletes of the Week, sponsored by Republic Services, last week. Conley appreciated the recognition and support she received during the vote.

Conley started playing basketball in third grade but her love for the sport started when she was younger. The Conley family has always been big basketball fans. She watched her older sister KeAnna play growing up. Conley said KeAnna inspires her and pushes her to play the best she can.

KeAnna graduated from SSHS in 2014 and played for the Lady Blackhawks all four years of high school. Conley said she gives her tips and ways she could improve as well as encourages the things she is doing well.

Conley said she has been on the varsity team since her freshman year. Her favorite part is playing with a team.

"I love that it depends on the team, not just one independent person," said Conley.

Conley is a captain along with seniors Terra Bertsch and Kara Good and she feels she is a good role model for the JV players. Conley said the coach recognized her good attitude on the court, keeping her head up even if she misses a shot and getting back to defense playing well all around.

Conley plays a forward shooter on the team this year. She feels it really fits her strengths with her three-point shots. She said the season started off strong and they have only gotten stronger as a team as the season continues.

Conley said while this year's team has a lot of versatility, each being able to fill roles as needed, their biggest strength is they play as a team.

"We treat each other as a family and keep each other going when we have bad nights," said Conley. "That has absolutely helped the team this year. We push each other to our best potential."

Conley explained that during the District Tournaments in the game prior to the championship her shot was off. Her coach told her she needed to keep shooting but she needed to work on it and figure out where it was.

"Since they all went over the rim, the next day I just took a few steps back on the three point [line] and kept shooting and they kept falling," said Conley.

In the Championship game Feb. 21, Conley shot her season high of 16 points to lead the top-seeded Blackhawks in a 59-38 win over Clark Fork. She was nominated for Athlete of the Week for the first time in her high school basketball career.

"I was honestly surprised but I was really grateful," said Conley. "It felt really great to know that I was noticed."

Voting for the Athlete of the Week ends Tuesday at 5 p.m. Conley said all day she was behind by 20-40 votes. She said friends, cousins and other people voted and she won the popular vote by 70.

"I was super happy that a lot of people voted," said Conley. "It felt really great and nice and I was really happy about it."

Conley is really proud of her team taking first in the Division. "State here we come!"

Every week, the Missoulian sports department nominates four boys and four girls for the honor "Prep Athletes of the Week."

Readers may vote for one girl and one boy in polls that appear at noon Sunday at Missoulian.com. Voting is open through 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

The winners will be announced in the Missoulian's Thursday edition and appear in a special advertisement, sponsored by Republic Services, each Sunday.