Jess Cabrera started attending Solanco girls basketball games as a six-year-old, looking up to the players, and hoping she would one day have her name on the banner listing the school's 1,000 point scorers. Twelve years later, the Mules' senior guard achieved that lofty goal. Needing 15 points to reach the grand milestone, Cabrera made history at the halftime buzzer and finished with 20 points in the Mules' 56-22 triumph over visiting Garden Spot Tuesday night, January 22. Cabrera scored eight points in the first quarter and knocked down a three-pointer early in the second. She hit two free throws with 4:48 to go before halftime for 998 career points. Cabrera spent some time resting on the bench before reentering the game. It looked like the milestone might have to wait until the second half. Solanco scored with five seconds left before intermission. Then, suddenly, Grace Kreider stole the Garden Spot inbounds pass underneath the basket. Cabrera was all along on the other side of the lane, and Kreider quickly shipped a pass to her backcourt mate. Points number 999 and 1,000 were two of the easiest of Cabrera's career. "I saw the clock winding down and I was like, 'Oh, I'll get it after halftime'," Cabrera said. "Once Grace got that steal I was like, 'If she sees me. I'm right here." And she passed it. Thank God it went in. It was just crazy. It was awesome. "I couldn't even think. I felt like I was on Cloud 9. It was awesome. Just so great." Cabrera celebrated with teammates, then with family members. She shared a hug with coach Chad McDowell, who presented her with the ball used to score the historic basket. "She's been phenomenal for our program," McDowell said. "Four-year starter. Came in here as a freshman and has really worked her butt off for four years and has really put forth the effort for our program. She's a team-first player. The first thing she did in the locker room was thank everyone and said she knew she wouldn't be able to do it without their support. She's a very unselfish player. Brings a lot to our program. It's a great accomplishment for her and to know we have two other players (Aleksa Burger and Grace Kreider) close to 800, that balance in our program is awesome. Jess is a great kid. Plays with a lot of heart. I couldn't be happier for her. I'm so proud of her. It was just awesome." Both McDowell and Cabrera were pleased the feat came in the Mules' gym. "It definitely was a relief," Cabrera said. "Ever since the beginning of this year I knew I had a shot at it. I always said, it'll come. It'll come. I never had a plan in mind. After our last game against Octorara (when Cabrera scored 30 points), that really put me in great shape to get it [against Garden Spot Tuesday night]. Everybody was saying, 'Ah, Jess is going to get it tonight." I was a little nervous. I'm just glad I was able to do it on my home court." Cabrera is the seventh 1,000-point scorer in the girls basketball program's history, joining Denine Groff, Lori Houck, Taylor Kreider, Emily Allport, Makenzie Keys, and Gillian Glackin in that exclusive club. "I always kept it as a far goal in my mind," said Cabrera. "I always said if it happens, it happens. Last year, I realized how close I was to it and I thought I've got to get it. It was great." Cabrera remembers coming to games and marveling at the ability of the Mules' players. "Ever since I would watch the girls play, I admired their style and everything," she said. "I started coming to all the games. I haven't even really realized yet that I'm going to be up on that banner, It's pretty cool. I always looked up to those girls who were on the banner. I used to come here as a little girl and say, 'I want to do that.' It's unreal to be able to do it." Solanco's defense spearheads big win over Garden Spot The Solanco girls basketball team combined business with pleasure during a 56-22 win over visiting Garden Spot Tuesday, January 22.
The Mules celebrated Jess Cabrera's 1,000th career point and earned another section victory to set up a showdown with first place Lampeter-Strasburg. Cabrera scored eight of her game-high 20 points in the first quarter as Solanco built a 16-7 advantage. The Mules scuffled on the offensive end in the second quarter as Cabrera neared the milestone. Coach Chad McDowell said the struggles can be partially atrributed to the anxiousness of awaiting the history making points. "I think some of it was," said McDowell. "We were a little sloppy early in the game. Our passes were sloppy, tried to force some things that weren't there. The team was very cognizant of Jess needing 15 points. I thought we'd get it in the second half. It was a bonus to get it in the first half. It was very quick how it happened. In the first half, I thought we pressed a little bit. We threw some passes ahead we don't normally throw. We had no air underneath them, and they were able to get some steals. We turned the ball over too many times early in the game." While Solanco's offense was not as effective as usual early, the defensive intensity remains a constant. "That's our staple right now," McDowell said. "That's our trademark. We're playing defense. To hold Megan Fisher, one of the league's leading scorers, to three points, all foul shots, is quite an accomplishment. Aleksa Burger did a great job on her. Megan is quite a player. She scored her 1,000th point [the previous night]. I've known Megan since she was small and she's a great kid, too, a great player. And we knew coming in she makes them go. We gave the challenge to Leks and she took it and went out and held her. Great defensive effort. everybody else stepped up. We rebounded well when we needed to, got steals, got easy transition points. It's an easy game when you're making layups." Cabrera's big basket came at the halftime horn and gave Solanco a 27-13 cushion. The Mules relaxed in the third quarter and got the offense back on track. Solanco scored the first eight points of the third quarter to go up 35-13 then finished with the period with a flourish to pad the margin to 42-18 entering the fourth quarter. First place in Section Three will be at stake Thursday night when the Mules travel to West Lampeter. The Pioneers lead Solanco by one game in the standings. "It's a big game for us," said McDowell. "We hold our own destiny in our hands. We're in the driver's seat. If we go up there and take care of our business, we control it. We go up there and win and we'll be even with them and they still have a game against Lancaster Catholic to play. It's a big game. We need the community there. We need our fans there. It's going to be a rockin' house. It's going to be a playoff atmosphere. We're to that point as a program that we're in those types of games now. It's been quite a long time since Solanco girls basketball has been in those types of games. It's because of the effort of these girls for the last the, four and five years that have earned us an opportunity to go up there and play in a big game and put ourselves in position to win the section. We'll see what happens." Solanco downed visiting Lampeter-Strasburg 40-31 in the first matchup back on January 8. "We got them the first time," Cabrera said. "I know they're a really good team. We've just got to come with the same intensity we had last time. I have faith in all my teammates. We're a great team. I think we're going to give them a run for their money." Comments are closed.
|
Archives
August 2023
Categories
All
|