Athlete of the week: Brianna Leonard

AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) - The Amherst girls basketball team won their first Western Mass title in 18 years. Most, if not all of the Hurricanes weren't even born the last time they won.  Amherst junior Brianna Leonard is the 22News athlete of the week.

"It feels like a dream I can't believe it's real, it's a great feeling especially from last year having that pain", says Leonard.

Last year, Amherst had a perfect record and lost to East Longmeadow in the Western Mass finals. With just one returning starter, the Hurricanes were not expected to win Western Mass this season.

"I can't believe we did it, we proved everyone wrong, no one believed in us in the beginning of the year, only we did, we proved that all we need is each other and we can do anything", says Leonard.

Leonard scored 16 points in the Hurricanes dominating win over Longmeadow in the Western Mass finals. The Amherst junior was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, but her MVP performance came in the Western Mass semifinals, helping to shut down Holyoke star Monique Heard. Worn out from that effort, the Hurricanes regrouped quickly.

"We pushed each other a lot in practice, we motivate each other, our coaches pushed us a lot and we pushed each other and it helped us", says Leonard.

Brianna's sister Alyssa graduated last season. Brianna will share this title with her sister, but wishes they could have enjoyed it as teammates.

"I learned a lot from her, it would have been better with her last year, but I'm still really happy to have it this year because now my teammates are sisters", says Leonard.

Amherst will play for a state championship on Saturday against Andover.