Belle Vernon grad Kaitlyn Slagus to carry on basketball career in Ireland

Kaitlyn Slagus isn’t ready to throw her high-tops over the telephone wires quite yet.

The former Bucknell and Belle Vernon star forward has plans to continue her basketball career overseas.

Slagus, who recently graduated from Bucknell, was awarded a Victory Scholarship from the Sport Changes Life Foundation and will attend Carlow Institute of Technology in Carlow, Ireland.

Between classes and projects, she will suit up for IT Carlow BC, a basketball club that plays in the Ireland Women’s Super League.

The 6-foot-2 Slagus was one of the best post players in the Patriot League in recent years — with a sneaky good touch from long range.

A three-time all-conference player, she averaged 13.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks last season for the Bison, who went 28-6, won a conference title and reached the NCAA Tournament.

With 23 points and seven rebounds in the title game, she was named MVP of the Patriot League Tournament. Bucknell won its second league title in three years before falling to Florida State in the first round of March Madness.

The Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 2016, Slagus leaves Bucknell as the program’s all-time leading rebounder (949) and finished second in blocks (150), sixth in 3-pointers (134) and seventh in scoring (1,487 points).

She received the Christy Mathewson Award as the top athlete in her class at Bucknell.