Photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. To view a gallery of photos, please click on the following link: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/p806799282
Scoring a thousand points was never on Emily Spratt’s radar.
Until, that is, the Central Bucks West senior ran into coach Zach Sibel in the hallway at school one day, and he informed her she was 14 points shy of that elusive milestone.
“I literally had no idea I was close,” Spratt said. “I didn’t think I would ever get it. Sibel told me before the Pennsbury game, and when he told me, I was like, ‘What? Are you sure about that?’ I had no idea.”
Spratt scored 10 points in her team’s game at Pennsbury, and the stage was set for the senior captain to score the final four points on Friday night in West’s Senior Night game against North Penn.
“At Pennsbury, I was like ‘If I get it, I get it. It doesn’t really matter. I just hope we win,’” Spratt said. “Since it was so close against North Penn, I was like, ‘Oh my god, these are going to be the hardest four points of my life. I just want them to be over with so I can move on and play the game.’”
Mother nature intervened, and Friday’s game was postponed to Monday night. Prior to the game, Spratt was honored as the team’s lone senior.
“Oh my gosh, it was so weird,” she said. “For me to be the only person to walk out (to be recognized) - I was like, ‘This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever been part of.’ It definitely was a little strange, and that did not help the pressure with the four points because it’s also only me.”
Spratt didn’t score in the first quarter but connected on a pair of baskets in the second.
“It was crazy – every time I took a layup it would bounce in and out, and everybody would be like, ‘Awwwwww,’” Spratt said. “I was like – ‘Oh my gosh, this needs to be done, this needs to be done. The second quarter I just need to make my shots, so we’re done.’”
The historic basket was vintage Spratt. It came on the putback of one of her patented drives to the hoop and underscored the hustle and aggressive style of play that has defined Spratt’s career.
“I was just really focused on winning throughout my high school season, so I never really thought about getting my 1,000th point, so when it happened 
it was definitely surreal,” Spratt said. ”Thinking my name is going to be on that banner with Maddie Burke and Nicole Munger – I just don’t belong up there, but it’s still really awesome, and I’m definitely very happy.
“It’s great, but I couldn’t do it without any of my teammates I’ve had over the years playing at West.”
Listening to Sibel tell it, there couldn’t have been a much better script for a player who has earned her spot in the record books of the storied program.
“One of the things we talked about in the locker room on Monday – we always have three keys to the game, and the last key today was – honor your senior,” Sibel said. “We said before the game, ‘With the way she plays – Emily plays with such effort and with such energy. We all need to do our best Emily Spratt impersonation today.’”
Spratt finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in the Bucks’ 46-38 win over North Penn. According to Sibel, it’s the senior captain’s relentless work ethic that sets her apart.
“She’s a kid that would pester me to get into the gym at all hours – in the summer asking me at 8 a.m. if she could sneak in,” the West coach said. “It’s one thing to have the work ethic – that’s something special you admire as a coach, and you hope all of your kids develop.
“It’s another thing to also be able to accept criticism. I think that’s the biggest thing for Emily. We gave her things she had to work on. We told her to play a different style of basketball – you can’t just be somebody that gets to the rim because if teams take that away, what are we doing then.
“So, to see her transform her game this offseason into a person who can really shoot the three. We always knew she could, but she was comfortable doing other things. It was cool to see her evolve into that. To be honest, I don’t think she takes enough 3s, so we’ll continue to be in her ear, and that’s something that’s going to help her even at the next level, expanding that game. It’s easy for a kid to hear what they need to do, it’s another thing for them to go do it. Every now and then you get someone that does both. They can listen to it and then apply it, and I think that’s what makes it special.”
Spratt has had a passion for the basketball for as long as she can remember, and the desire to become the best she could be was nurtured when she was in third grade and began playing travel.
“I played up (an age group) with Marge McCusker, and her dad was the coach,” Spratt said of her former West teammate. “Ever since he was my coach, he showed me what it’s truly like and what basketball can bring you.
“I think that family feel of always being with a team always made me want to play. I just had really good coaches growing up that inspired me to work hard and great teammates I surrounded myself with that really pushed me to be my best.”
Spratt also credits her family for nurturing her love of the game.
“We would go to Del Val and all play against each other,” she said. “The games would get a little heated, but they also are the biggest supporters, and I would not be able to do it without them.”
Spratt has signed a letter of intent to Jefferson University where she will continue playing the sport she loves.
“I was having a conversation with our AD, Henry Hunt, and he said, ‘It’s a joy watching Emily because she has a smile on her face at all times,’” Sibel said. “She’s a fierce competitor, but she doesn’t let moments get too big, and she does things with a smile. That’s something that’s rare in this day and age.
“People get caught up in statistics, caught up in whether or not individually they’re playing well. There is an individualization of basketball, the quintessential team sport. It’s good for other players to see that you can be really good, you can score a thousand points, you can be a great defender, but you can also have fun while you do it. I think sometimes we lose sight of that second part.”
- Log in to post comments
