Fleegle shared the coaching honor with Williamsburg’s Angela Detwiler after both coaches received 40 votes.

“It’s a nice award. It’s a team award,” Fleegle said. “In order for a coach to win this, you need to have great assistant coaches, supportive administration and you have to have players that buy into what you’re trying to accomplish on the basketball court. I really look at this as a huge team award for the success we have had this season and previous seasons. I’m definitely honored to be mentioned by my peers, but it’s a reflection of our program and what we have worked really hard to accomplish.”

No one bought in more than Nguyen-Moore, who finally returned to her natural position this year and broke out as the Lady Lions’ point guard.

“In years past, we were very guard-heavy,” Fleegle said. “Zae, being a team-first player, she would do anything that we needed on the court. Her natural position is point guard, and she excels at that. Everyone got to see that this year. When we switched her as a senior to her natural position, you got to see all year long how she made everyone around her better and was also very clutch when we needed a basket or a defensive stop or rebound.”

With Nguyen-Moore at the helm, Altoona won a District 4-6 Class 6A title and then won three state playoff games before falling by a point in the final seconds to Dallastown in the PIAA semifinals.

“She was our calm,” Fleegle said. “She never gets too high or too low. She has a passion for playing the game at a competitive level. She got her team to follow her, and that says a lot when you’re looking at a high school player. Her teammates believed in her and believed she would lead them in the right direction. She pushed us, and we all enjoyed the success we had this year. It goes back to her leadership and the buy-in she got from her teammates and making them play above their level on most nights.”

Nguyen-Moore not only averaged 13.3 points per game, she helped others score by leading the team in assists.

“It means a lot, because I have put a lot of work into my game since I was little,” Nguyen-Moore said. “It’s really nice to see it all kind of paying off, especially after this last season where we made it pretty far. It’s nice to finally connect all the dots. Being at the point guard position helped. But it also helped with the confidence my teammates and coaches had in me. It really helps make you become more comfortable in the position I was in.”

Detwiler, in her second year, helped Williamsburg win four state playoff games and make it to the PIAA Class 1A championship game before the Lady Pirates fell 39-36 to Delco Christian.

“I’m honored, and it means a lot to me,” Detwiler said. “This is my second year coaching, and all of the other coaches that I have reached out to the last two years have been so supportive and helpful. There is a great group of coaches in our area.”

The Lady Pirates lost in blowout fashion to St. Joseph’s in the regular season, dropped a two-point game in the District 6 consolation and then defeated the Lady Wolves in the PIAA semifinals.

“I have to give all the credit to my players,” Detwiler said. “Going into the state playoffs, we were the No. 4 seed. I knew we needed an edge and couldn’t just play straight up and keep moving on. I would watch film and tell the girls what we were going to do. Against St. Joe’s, we ran a defense we didn’t run the entire season. The girls came out with only one or two days of practice and executed it so well. I have to give credit to my players for executing the plan so well. They trusted me with trying some different things, and I trusted them with implementing it out on the floor.”

Joining Nguyen-Moore on the first team were Bishop Guilfoyle junior Morgan Ruggery (last year’s player of the year), Williamsburg junior Levada Gorsuch, Altoona teammate and sophomore Brionna Hudson and Hollidaysburg senior Makenna Weimert.