Alexis Bordas of Wheeling Park drives to the basket during the Patriots' game against the Mohigans on Tuesday.

WHEELING – Wheeling Park High School girls basketball player Alexis Bordas is now in a class all by herself in West Virginia girls hoops history.

Bordas has received the highest honor a female basketball player can achieve in the Mountain State for an unprecedented third time. The sweet-shooting southpaw has been selected as the Gatorade West Virginia Player of the Year, making her the first three-time winner of the prestigious award that has been presented since the 1985-86 season.

“I’m very honored, obviously, and thankful for everyone who voted for me,” Bordas said. “Especially with all of the talented players in the state and all the past winners. To be the only one to win this award three times is incredible.

“I think it is a testament to all my hard work and dedication,” she continued. “That’s something I pride myself in is my hard work. To have it pay off and be recognized like this, I’m very honored.”

Seven other West Virginia girls basketball players have won the award twice – former Linsly and UConn standout Ashley Battle; Huntington High’s Jordyn Dawson, Whitney Bays and Laura Meadows; St. Joseph Central’s Mychal Johnson; North Marion High’s Mariah Byard and South Charleston High’s Alexis Hornbuckle.

Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the court, in the classroom and in the community. The award distinguishes Bordas as West Virginia’s best high school girls basketball player and she joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such as Candace Parker (2002-03 & 2003-04, Naperville Central High School, Illinois), Paige Bueckers (2019-20, Hopkins High School, Minnesota) and Joyce Edwards (2023-24, Camden High School, South Carolina).

“It was actually cool in the graphic that Gatorade sent me, my name was listed between Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark,” Bordas offered. “It was neat to be among two recent winners who are very well-known.”

Wheeling Park head coach Ryan Young felt blessed to be able to coach a player of Bordas’ caliber.

“It is an incredible honor for someone to receive the Gatorade Player Of the Year, and for Lex to do it three times is simply amazing. People don’t see the amount of work she puts into this and she is so deserving of the recognition she has received over the last four years,” he said. “I am so fortunate to have coached a player like Lex. She is a model student-athlete that sets the bar high, not only for herself, but for her team, as well. She has helped elevate our program and I can’t wait to watch her succeed at the next level and beyond.”

A Duquesne University signee, Bordas, a 5-foot-8 senior guard, averaged 33.1 points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists per game this past season, leading the Patriots (15-9) to the Region I AAAA final. Ranked as the state’s No. 1 recruit in her class by PrepGirlsHoops, she is also a three-time first team All-State selection, who has twice been named captain. She was MVP of the 2024 state tournament, where she led the Patriots to their first state title since 1999.

When asked if this award made up for not qualifying for the Class AAAA state tournament after being the defending champions, Bordas was up front and quick to answer.

“Not quite. I don’t think you can make up for that,” she stressed. “Our goal every season was to go down there and be able to compete, hopefully, for a state championship. We had a lot of inexperience and I was the only returning player with meaningful minutes, but I thought we improved all year and I was happy with our effort.”

With all the adversity that the Patriots went through after winning the state title, the school’s all-time leading scorer (2,606 points) and the school’s and Ohio Valley’s all-time leader in 3-point shots made (367), said her senior season made her a better player.

“Even as a freshman, I tried to come in and be a leader,” she admitted. “But as I got older, I tried to be a better leader. This year being the oldest and most experienced, I think really helped my leadership abilities, but I also think I got better basketball-wise, too. Facing any type of defense you can think of … double- and triple-teams, box-and-1s, faceguards. I don’t think I saw a regular defense all year.”

She has also won the Mary Ostrowski Award twice as the West Virginia Sports Writers Association’s pick as the state’s top female player, sharing it last year with Cameron’s Ashlynn Van Tassell.

Bordas has volunteered locally on behalf of the Soup Kitchen of the Upper Ohio Valley and by collecting food, as well as wrapping gifts for the less fortunate throughout the holiday season. A member of the Drug Free Club of America, she has also donated her time by hosting a free instructional basketball clinic for youth players three years in a row. Bordas is a devoted parishioner of the St. Vincent Parish Church and has served as student council class representative, a freshman mentor and a Regional Environmental Action Program counselor at her school.

“She’s one of the toughest players in girls high school basketball in the state,” said Pat Jones, head coach at Nitro High School. “She respects the game and gives you 110% every time, plus she handles pressure and double- and triple-teams night-in and night-out. She’s a team player and humble athlete with amazing talent.”

All the while, Bordas has maintained a 4.68 weighted GPA in the classroom.

“I would like to thank all of my family and friends, obviously, all of my coaches, teammates and trainers. I couldn’t have done any of this without them,” she offered. “My family comes to every one of my games – home or away – no matter how far they might be.”

She said a driving force to get better started at a young age when her father Jamie Bordas would tease her that her mother Stacy Bordas, nee Contraguerro, was better than Alexis was.

“She was my first coach. She is the reason why I fell in love with basketball,” Alexis said of her mother who was a three-time first team all-state player and 1,000-point scorer at Wheeling Central. “She’s my biggest fan still, even though she doesn’t coach me any more. I looked up to here and that definitely made me want to be better than here.

“When I was younger, probably about fourth grade, my dad used to tell me she was better than me. That was extra motivation. He doesn’t say that any more.”