Taylor Hinkle surpassed the 1,000-point milestone, the fifth student-athlete in school history to surpass the milestone. (Photos provided)
Taylor Hinkle finds herself in some mighty impressive company.
The Central Bucks South senior became just the fifth student-athlete in school history to reach the elusive 1,000-point milestone, and it’s a safe bet no one before or after Hinkle will have a night that follows a better script.
Hinkle needed just eight points entering her team’s late-season game against archrival Central Bucks East, a contest that also happened to be the team’s Senior Night game. It took her less than a quarter to get the job done, reeling off her team’s first eight points and scoring the historic basket on a fast break in the opening quarter.
If that wasn’t enough, Hinkle also scored the game-winning basket in the Patriots’ 45-44 win.
“It was crazy,” she said. “Honestly, I was speechless. Not only scoring my 1,000th point – yes, that’s a great milestone and a great accomplishment, but Senior Night is way more important to me.
“It was awesome that it happened Senior Night, it was awesome that we pulled a win out because it was a very gritty game. It came down to the wire. Obviously, having the game-winning shot was crazy as well. Just the atmosphere in the gym, all the fans and everything – it was a great feeling.”
Hinkle has been a fixture in the Titans’ starting lineup since she set foot on the court as a freshman.
“The best part about Taylor is she’s worked so hard in her offseason too, and she’s come back better every season, and I think that’s hard to do sometimes,” South coach Beth Mattern said. “She stayed motivated, she’s been a worker, and she just keeps getting better.”
Hinkle grew up playing basketball and softball and excelled at both.
“I was all in for softball,” she said. “In fifth or sixth grade, I narrowed it down to one sport because I knew as I grew older I wouldn’t be able to play both. I stuck with basketball, got a lot of training.”
The senior captain trained with former Central Bucks West and University of Michigan standout Nicole Munger.
“We’re family friends,” Hinkle said. “I went to almost every West game when she played there.
“When she scored her 1,000th point, I was like, “Wow, that is so cool. I want to do that one day.’ Honestly, it was Nicole Munger that made me see, ‘Maybe I can do that one day.’ She was my biggest role model at that time, and I looked up to her a lot.”
In eighth grade, Hinkle was a loyal fan of a Titans’ squad that advanced to the PIAA 6A state title game.
“Me and Alyssa D’Orazio went to almost every game, especially the playoff games,” she said. “We travelled really far when they played North Allegheny (in the state semis), and they came out with the win and then went to the state championship. We were there.
“It definitely made me more comfortable to see what their style of play was and what their coaching was like, so when I came in as a ninth grader – obviously, they lost a bunch of seniors that year, so it was just Alexa Brodie, Fatima (Cervera) and Sofia Sonnet.”
Mattern knew she was inheriting a special talent in Hinkle.
“Her eighth grade year she was at every game in the postseason – just that dedication to the sport, following the team and being invested in what was going on,” the Titans’ coach said. “That’s where it all started.
“As soon as she got on the court, her jump shot was nice, she could drive. Obviously, she still needed a lot of skill work, but who doesn’t in ninth grade? She’s lived up to her potential and is just continuing to grow as a player.”
According to the Titans' coach, Hinkle, who will take her talents to Holy Family University next year, is a quiet leader.
“Taylor leads by example, but she’s the one who you always see giving a high five to her teammates, just saying something (encouraging) as they walk by,” Mattern said. “She doesn’t do it in a way that everyone will see it but so the person who needs it hears it.”
Hinkle and the Titans capped the regular season with a Senior Night for the ages, and making it especially emotional was the fact that two of her long-time teammates – D’Orazio and Mackenzie Erb – were sidelined with injuries.
“There was a lot of emotion, not only for me but for my teammates as well,” Hinkle said. “I played with the two of them since I was in second grade. I’ve known them my whole life, so it was very emotional.”
As for getting the eight points she needed to reach a thousand so quickly - that was just an asterisk on a special night.
“I knew going into that game I needed eight, but I didn’t want to worry about it,” Hinkle said. “It wasn’t my focus at all. My focus was just to win on Senior Night for our seniors and for the rest of the team.
“I just got off to a hot start and, oddly enough, scored the first eight points. I guess there was a little bit of relief off my shoulders – I could just play my regular game.”
The game turned out to be anything but regular as it came down to the wire with Hinkle providing the late-game heroics.
“The whole night ended up being storybook,” Mattern said. “It was such an emotional journey. In the end, getting (her thousand points) on Senior Night was icing on the cake for everyone, giving us all something extra to celebrate.”
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