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Whaley records 1,000th point in Millionaires’ victory

Jada Whaley caught the Samiyah Little pass, turned toward the basket and swished a 3-pointer while joining an exclusive club.

Whaley’s 3-pointer two minutes into Saturday’s game against visiting North Schuylkill gave her 1,000 career points as the senior became Williamsport’s third 1,000-point scorer in the past 13 seasons. She kept making a big impact from there, scoring 23 points, grabbing eight rebounds and helping the Millionaires defeat visiting North Schuylkill, 62-51, for the first time in five years.

Those in attendance saw the finished product. What they missed is exactly how Whaley has scaled the lofty Williamsport heights. They have not witnessed the countless hours practicing, playing AAU basketball and setting an example.

Those moments define who Whaley is and why she has become one of Williamsport’s greats.

“She’s a four-year starter and when we have workouts in the offseason she’s at the top of the pack doing hills or running sprints,” Williamsport coach Terrill-Seward Buxton said. “Whatever we do, she’s always there. She’s trying to be a leader and trying to keep the girls up.”

She is doing well at that, too. Whaley was at her best when North Schuylkill cut a 15-point second-quarter deficit to four early in the third. Whaley ended the run with a 3-pointer and a drive, igniting a dazzling rally in which she had a hand in 16 of the next 18 points and helped give Williamsport a 17-point lead entering the fourth.

Whether it was shooting, attacking, passing, defending or rebounding, Whaley did it Saturday and came up big. On a day when she was honored for her scoring, Whaley again showed just how complete a player she is.

“I like being a point guard and getting my teammates involved and helping out,” Whaley said. “I learned a lot because when I played with Chloe (Jennings) and Jaynelle (Robinson) as a freshman they were always picking me up. Sometimes I would get frustrated and the girls were bigger than me and so they would help me out. It’s the same thing now. If we play against bigger girls I tell them not to worry about that. They’re just basketball players. Just go out there and do your thing.”

Whaley has been doing that quite well the past four seasons. She was one of the few returning varsity contributors as a sophomore but still had a big season. It was more of the same last year when Whaley helped Williamsport make a five-win improvement. The Millionaires (8-8) have again built on the previous season’s win total and are looking like a team that could contend for its first district championship since 1995.

And it all starts with Whaley. She entered yesterday needing just one point to reach 1,000. Whaley had to wait a week sitting on 999 after Wednesday’s game at Mifflin County was postponed. Reaching 1,000 point was important, but winning the game meant more and that was Whaley’s focus as she passed well early and waited for her opportunity.

It came early and she made it look easy, draining the 3-pointer from the left wing. After receiving teammates’ congratulations, Whaley was given balloons writing out 1,000 and posed for pictures with her parents. Then it was back to business as she continued excelling and made a run at a double-double while finishing with five assists and two steals.

“I wanted to win more than anything, but I really wanted to get my 1,000 points, too,” said Whaley, who helped her AAU team capture a national championship last summer. “We hadn’t beaten North Schuylkill in a long time so I really wanted that more than anything for my team.”

“She learned what it takes and I’m asking her to do some things she’s not used to doing and she’s doing it,” Seward-Buxton said. “She’s a coachable player. She’s someone who can take what we’re saying onto the court. She’s keeping the other girls calm. She talks to them and tells them to stay together and that’s big.”

That importance was evident all game as Williamsport dominated early and took a 16-2 lead less than six minutes in. Every time North Schuylkill rallied, Whaley helped Williamsport answer. It was Whaley’s day and everyone Seward-Buxton used helped make it a good one by contributing well.

Emily Pardee (8 rebounds) made four of her seven steals in the first quarter while Kalindi Maggs (8 points) added three more and Williamsport forced 14 first-half turnovers.

Katelyn Wilson was outstanding in the second half, scoring 13 points, dealing five assists and grabbing five rebounds. Little pulled down eight rebounds and the reserves made a nice impact as well.

“I like when that happens. I like when everybody does what they’re supposed to do,” Whaley said. “The team game is what is important. It’s not about the individual game and everybody needs to be able to score and get rebounds and assists and then that kind of stuff and that’s what we were doing.”

The Millionaires have a good shot at earning the No. 2 seed for the District 2-4 Class 6A playoffs and an outside shot at taking the top spot if they continue surging over their final six games. They also are making a run at the program’s first winning season in four years and just second since 2011. Yesterday was another good step forward.

“We’re growing. They’re starting to realize that our defense can lead to our offense and make us pretty good at times,” Seward-Buxton said. “As we keep growing hopefully we can make some noise.”

Whaley already has.

Williamsport 62,

North Schuylkill 51

NORTH SCHUYLKILL (51)

Mya Wetzel 3 0-0 8, Sarah Wagner 9 9-10 28, Emma Green 0 0-0 0, Joslyn Stitzer 1 3-3 5, Katlynn Himes 3 0-0 7, Jaclyn Mogish 1 0-1 2, Averi Creasy 0 1-2 1. Totals 17 13-16 51.

WILLIAMSPORT (62)

Jada Whaley 8 3-5 23, Katelyn Wilson 5 2-2 13, Emily Pardee 2 1-3 5, Fondrea McClain 1 0-0 2, Samiyah Little 1 0-0 2, Kalindi Maggs 4 0-0 8, Kailee Heimrich 1 0-0 2, Whitney Felix 0 0-0 0, Jessica Robinson 0 0-0 0, Serina Beiter 0 0-0 0, Sophia Erb 1 1-2 3, Enya Green-Platt 2 0-0 4. Totals 25 7-13 62.

N. Schuylkill 6 12 14 19–51

Williamsport 19 8 22 13–62

3-point goals: N. Schulykill 4 (Wetzel 2, Wagner 1, Himes 1), Williamsport 5 (Whaley 4, Wilson 1).

Records: Williamsport (8-8).

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