Senior Aiyannah Peal added her name to the elite list of Abington players to score a thousand points. To view photos of the historic occasion, please visit the Photo Gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/g/2011-12cit
Midway through the second quarter of Tuesday night’s SOL game against Pennsbury, Aiyannah Peal was stunned – and none too pleased – when coach Dan Marsh called a hasty timeout after she buried the front end of a one-and-one at the foul line.
“I thought – ‘Why did he do that. I made my first foul shot, and he’s going to mess up my rotation,’” the Abington senior said. “I don’t like when he does that.
“Everybody started screaming, and I’m like, ‘What are they doing?’ I thought because we were up and I made my foul shots they were cheering for me.”
It didn’t take long for Peal to figure out it was a whole lot more than just a made foul shot that ignited the crowd as Marsh took the microphone and announced that Peal had just reached the 1,000-point mark – a fact that came as a surprise to no one except Peal.
“Even the refs knew – my coach thought (the ref) gave it up because he pointed at me in the beginning of the game and said, ‘Is she the one?’” Peal said. “But I didn’t see him. I had no clue at all.
“I knew at the beginning (of the season) I was close, but I didn’t know how close. I wasn’t aware of it at all.”
Marsh admits he doesn’t like to tell his players when they are approaching a personal milestone.
“I don’t want them to press, and individual accomplishments are secondary to what the team does,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “I think sometimes when you tell the kids, the personal accomplishment becomes primary as opposed to what the team needs to accomplish.
“Individual accomplishments should always be secondary to team accomplishments. There aren’t many girls who have done this at Abington, but Aiyannah deserves it. She’s worked hard. She’s gotten better, and she’s exactly what you want to see from a kid. Winning is always a first priority for Aiyannah. She’s not happy unless we win. Aiyannah could score 40 points, but she would not be happy if we didn’t win.”
Marsh, who teaches in the junior high school, met Peal when she was in seventh grade.
“I knew Aiyannah was special when she was that young and was waiting for her to get up here,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “She’s gotten better every year, and not everybody does that.”
Peal earned a spot in the starting lineup as a freshman when she played forward for the Ghosts.
“She was actually a pretty good post player and a pretty good post passer at that point,” Marsh said. “As she got older, she got better at handling the ball and became a better shooter.
“Her game is all over the place now.”
Peal has found a home in the Ghosts’ backcourt. She led Abington with 15 points in the Ghosts’ 39-25 win over Pennsbury on Tuesday.
“Aiyannah has the unique ability to figure out what our team needs – if it’s a rebound, if it’s a steal, if it’s a bucket, if it’s a pass,” Marsh said. “Her game is pretty complete. It’s been great to see her progress.
“The biggest thing I have seen with Aiyannah is the maturity level. Now she’s a captain, and she really communicates with me and stays calm. At times, she’s calmer than I am.”
When Peal scored the basket that put her name in the record books, the game was halted as she accepted balloons, a signed basketball from her teammates as well as the game ball. The senior captain admits she had set the milestone as a personal goal.
“When I was a sophomore and Emily Leer scored her thousandth point, I was like, ‘Wow, I want to do that someday. I want to make a mark when I leave,’” she said. “I’m glad it happened.”
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