BY FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
The past and the future of Oakwood girls’ basketball came together nearly a decade ago.
A promising young player, Katelyn Young, was getting her start in organized basketball as a grade-schooler. One of her coaches was the former Stacie Calhoun, who set Oakwood’s all-time scoring record – for boys or girls – before graduating in 1985.
“She told my parents when I was in grade school that I could score that many points,” Young said.
That many points was a lot, 2,314 to be exact.
To reach that plateau, a player would need to be a four-year varsity regular and average more than 19 points a game throughout her prep career.
Turns out Calhoun was not just a good scorer. She was also a good prognosticator.
In her 119th varsity game on Friday, Young replaced Calhoun atop the all-time Oakwood basketball scoring list.
Her record-setting point came on a basket with 7 minutes, 30 seconds left in a Vermilion Valley Conference game at Danville Schlarman.
By game’s end, Young had added five more points to her total, finishing with 26 and extending her career record to 2,320 points.
“I didn’t know that (basket) was the one,” Young said.
It wasn’t long, however, before she realized it.
The game was stopped moments later and the Comets’ senior was presented the game ball.
It will join two other balls she has, one for reaching 1,000 points as a sophomore and the other for hitting the 2,000-point mark in the team’s 13th game this season.
When she entered high school, Young didn’t think much about the prediction made by her former youth coach.
“Not at all,” she said. “I didn’t think I would score a thousand.”
Schlarman won Friday’s game 56-51 to clinch its sixth consecutive Vermilion Valley Conference championship.
Oakwood coach Stephanie Marsh wasn’t surprised that Young has achieved at a high level.
“As a freshman, she made an impact on our program,” said Marsh, who didn’t reveal to Young how close she was to the mark entering the regular-season finale.
“She had her focus on playing the game and didn’t want to know the exact number,” Marsh said. “That’s just one more thing to worry about.”
Young has remained an effective scorer as a senior even though her role on the team has changed as she helps Aubrey Wells get the ball up-court.
Beyond that, Marsh said, “she has stepped up as far as being a leader.
“She’s a great kid to have on the team. I can count on her to help with the younger kids.”
Young has maintained a 19.5 scoring average during her Oakwood years and has hit the 20-point mark as a senior in 20 of her 27 games.
She is well-known as the team’s top-scoring option.
“When you’re double- or triple-teamed you have to get creative on what to do to score and get other teammates open,” Young said.
Young has it on good authority that Oakwood’s former career scoring leader is fine with her newfound hold on the top spot after Calhoun held it for 35 years.
“Her daughter (Hayley Mascari) is in my grade and told me her mom wanted me to beat her record,” Young said.
In Friday’s game, Oakwood held a 29-22 halftime lead, but was outscored 19-9 in the third quarter.
Karsen Rupp scored 10 points and Addie Wright had nine for the Comets. Young hit 14 of her points in the first half.
The Comets (22-7) return to action tonight at 7:30 in a first-round Class 2A regional tournament game at Maroa-Forsyth against Westville.
During Young’s varsity career, Oakwood has amassed 98 wins. Young is looking to add to that total.
“If we play our game,” she said, “we’ll have a pretty good chance.”
