Upper Merion senior Kristina O’Sullivan reached the 1,000-point milestone in Monday night’s win over Motivation High School.
By Mary Jane Souder
Kristina O’Sullivan insists she had no idea she was nearing the 1,000-point milestone in Monday night’s game against Motivation High School.
Until, that is, her teammates stopped looking for their shots and kept passing her the ball.
“I was like, ‘I’m not open. Don’t throw me the ball,’ and then it finally hit me,” the Upper Merion senior said. “I knew I was close, but I didn’t really think it was this game. I thought it was a little further out. It was a big surprise.”
O’Sullivan, who needed 19 points, reached the magical milestone late in the second quarter when she scored on a breakaway.
“The girls flattened me into the ground,” she said. “It was like a mugging. It was a great moment.”
Making O’Sullivan’s accomplishment even more remarkable is the fact that basketball is her secondary sport. The Upper Merion senior will be playing soccer at the Division One level. She recently received her appointment to the United States Air Force Academy.
“She has been the backbone of our team for her entire four years here,” coach Tom Schurtz said. “She’s an absolutely spectacular kid.
“If you watched her play for five minutes, you would never know this is her secondary sport. Her skill level aside, just the ferocity she plays with every single day to fully embrace it despite the fact that playing basketball is detrimental to soccer because it’s less time you can focus on that.
“To do it so willingly – the girl is all over the floor, goes 100 miles an hour and really only knows one way to play. She’s that way as a student in the classroom, she’s that way as a friend. I think it speaks for her character that whatever she’s engaged in, she’s fully engaged. You want kids to do that. You want kids to be invested in what they’re doing, and she’s fully invested in everything she does.”
O’Sullivan is the sixth Upper Merion female to surpass the 1,000-point mark, following on the heels of Cassidy Koenig, who reached the milestone last year. For the senior point guard, putting her name in the school record books is secondary.
“As it got closer, it kind of fell into the fold,” O’Sullivan said of reaching the milestone. “I realized it was possible.
“I’m happy. It’s something nice to do and have, but there’s nothing better than getting wins and playing as a team. The experience overall is the greatest. Getting a thousand points is great, but you can’t beat playing with the group of girls we have at Upper Merion.”
O’Sullivan – who is in the top five in rebounds and steals in school history - recently broke the school’s all-time assist record for girls’ basketball of 401.
“For all intents and purposes, she is one of the most effective basketball players in my time at Upper Merion,” Schurtz said. “To score a thousand points is one thing, but to score a thousand points and lead the school in assists is amazing.”
The senior point guard has 434 assists, and it’s clear she derives more pleasure from setting her teammates up than scoring herself.
“Getting points is great, but being able to make that final pass for that girl to just bring it home is the best feeling in the world,” O’Sullivan said. “Just to be able to beat the school record is great, but the whole four years and everything combined have been great. The school record is the cherry on top.”
Reaching the 1,000-point plateau put the finishing touches on O’Sullivan’s Senior Night celebration.
“Oh my goodness, it was wonderful,” she said. “My grandparents came to the game, my aunts came to the game. It was very exciting to see familiar faces in the crowd, knowing that they’re all here to support me.
“I was really pumped about that. I always like having family here to watch. I was just happy to play in front of the home crowd. It was really exciting for me and everyone else. Everyone loves basketball there, and it’s comfortable to play. You can let it all out. It couldn’t be better.”
“To do it on Senior Night – that really is appropo for her because she has always been about the team,” Schurtz said. “At least on her one night, it could be about her.”
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