Someone apparently forgot to tell Liz Martin that players who are 5-9 aren’t supposed to dominate in the paint.
The Central Bucks East senior made a career out of beating her opponents on the low post even though she regularly gave up inches to them. In the Patriots’ fifth place game against Council Rock South in the District One Class AAAA Tournament, Martin surpassed the magical 1,000-point plateau.
She needed 12 points entering the game, and the talented forward scored the historic basket early in the fourth quarter on a layup after coming up with a steal on the defensive end. The game was halted for what Martin assumed was a routine timeout.
Until she started receiving congratulations and was presented with flowers.
“I had no idea,” Martin said. “I knew I was close – under a hundred, but I didn’t realize I was at 12.
“It felt really good to finally do it. I didn’t think this would happen ever.”
It happened because Martin was a consistent contributor from the moment she set foot on the court as a freshman.
“It’s difficult in our school district because the majority of our players don’t suit up until they’re sophomores,” East coach Tom Lonergan said of the accomplishment. “She was a fortunate one in that she suited up as a freshman and also was able to get enough time as a freshman to establish her career.”
As a freshman, Martin averaged eight minutes a game as the team’s backup center. One year later, she was a fixture in the starting lineup, and she never left. She is a three-time first team all-league selection, one of just three players at East to accomplish that remarkable feat.
The key to Martin’s success, according to Lonergan, can be summed up rather simply.
“It’s her quickness,” the Patriots’ coach said. “She has the quickness, and a lot times because of that quickness she draws fouls. She’s a 70-plus percent foul shooter, and that was big.”
Martin averaged close to 17 points a game as a senior, and she is only the sixth girl in East history to reach the 1,000-point milestone. Martin leaves East as the school’s all-time rebounding leader, and she was also the SOL Continental Conference Player of the Year for the season just completed.
Not a bad career for an undersized forward who used her speed and skill to more than make up for what she lacked in size.
- Log in to post comments
0
