Senior Lizzie O’Leary became the 10th female to reach the 1,000-point mark at Abington.
Lizzie O’Leary – according to her coach – is a ‘team-first kind of kid,’ and personal goals have always taken a backseat to individual goals. Like scoring a thousand points.
Abington’s senior center entered her final high school season 185 points shy of the 1,000-point milestone.
“I think she probably knew it would come,” coach Dan Marsh said.
O’Leary - who transferred back to Abington after spending her freshman year at Archbishop Wood – said she didn’t give the matter a whole lot of thought. Until last year.
“Freshman year when I was at Wood it wasn’t a common thing there,” she said. “Everybody scored during games. There weren’t usually any high scorers.
“My dad told me at the end of last year’s season how far away I was. It was only 185, and it was something I could definitely do during the season. It was probably two weeks ago when I was like, ‘Okay, it’s really coming up.’”
“We’ve been telling her – let the game come to you because it’s going to happen,” Marsh said. “It’s just a matter of when because she wanted it to happen at home.”
It looked as though that might not happen when the team’s game against Boyertown was postponed, but a pair of 20-point performances against Pennridge and Bensalem left O’Leary just seven points shy of the 1,000-point plateau entering last Tuesday’s home game against Pennsbury.
Early in the second quarter, the senior center received the ball on the low post and – despite being fouled - rolled to the basket for an easy bucket that vaulted O’Leary to the 1,000-point plateau, setting off an impromptu celebration that included balloons and a banner.
“A bunch of my friends came and made shirts with 1,000 written out on them, which was really cool,” O’Leary said. “All of my family came and a lot of old coaches came.
“It was really such an honor to be able to do something like that at my school.”
She insists she felt no pressure.
“I went into the game knowing I only needed seven, and I just played like I normally play,” she said.
After play was halted for the celebration, O’Leary calmly buried the foul shot to complete the three-point play.
It’s the kind of composure Marsh has come to expect from O’Leary, who has been an impact player since she set foot on the court as a sophomore and helped lead the Ghosts to a district runner-up finish.
“Every time you talked to her she was like ‘I want to win it for the seniors because I wasn’t here for them last year,’” Marsh said. “She’s always been a team-first kid.
“I think she’s happy she’s gotten a thousand points, but if she had a choice, I think she’d much rather go out and win some championships at the end of the year.”
O’Leary averages over 13 points and close to 10 rebounds a game. She can dominate in the paint, or she can take her game away from the basket.
“She hit the weight room, and each year she’s gotten in much better shape,” Marsh said. “She was always a dominant inside post player, (but she) worked on her ball handling and passing and her shooting, and she became a complete player.
“There was a time in our game against CR North when they took away Britney James, our point guard, and Lizzie started bringing the ball up. She was perfectly capable of doing that. Her game has progressed tremendously over the past three years.”
Marsh calls his senior captain a quiet leader.
“She does it more by actions, which is always a good thing,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “She leads by example, and that’s the kind of kid she is.”
O’Leary has signed a letter of intent to take her talents to the University of Delaware next year, but her work at Abington is not finished. The Ghosts, winners of six straight and nine of their last 10, are playing their best basketball of the season down the stretch with high hopes for the post season.
Whatever the remainder of the season might hold, O’Leary has ensured herself a spot in program history.
“My coach told me I was only the 10th person to do it at Abington,” she said. “It was really nice to know my name is going to be up there and remembered as part of the school’s basketball program forever.”
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