By Rob Potter
GRAHAMSVILLE — February 8, 2011 — The moment that family members, teammates, coaches and fans have been anticipating for the past several weeks occurred with 3:26 remaining in the third quarter of Thursday night’s Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Div. IV basketball game.
Tri-Valley’s Jakki Pugh swished a 3-point shot from the top of the key to score the 1,000th point in her Lady Bears’ basketball career.
The basket also extended T-V’s lead over the visiting Chester Lady Hambletonians to 43-16
After a momentary stop in play as the crowd applauded for Pugh and her teammates embraced her, the contest continued and the Lady Bears went on to register a 60-30 victory.
Pugh finished with a game-high 24 points, pushing her career total to 1,003 points. She became the first girls’ basketball player in T-V history to reach that milestone.
Pugh, a senior guard, got off to a quick start. She made three shots in the first two minutes of the game to give the Lady Bears a 6-0 advantage.
Later in the first quarter, Mareena DiMilia and Kaitlynn Greffrath each scored two baskets to help T-V push its lead to 18-4.
After making a 3-point shot with 2:08 to go in the second period, Pugh scored two more baskets to give the Lady Bears a 35-10 halftime advantage.
With the victory, T-V improved its record to 12-1 overall and 4-0 in Div. V.
Greffrath finished the game with 10 points. DiMilia and Sarah Schneyer added nine points and six points, respectively, for the Lady Bears.
Leanne Jankelunas led Chester (6-9, 2-4 Div. V) with seven points, while teammate Mardelle Jean had six points.
Nicole Rosenberg added four points for the Lady Hambletonians.
Following the game, T-V Athletic Director Derek Adams presented Pugh with a basketball and flowers for her accomplishment. Adams noted that it “was an honor for him to present the basketball to Jakki Pugh for becoming the first [girls’ basketball] player in school history to score 1,000 points.”
Adams also praised Pugh for her outstanding work in the classroom as well as on athletic fields and the basketball court.
“It feels pretty good,” Pugh said of her achievement.
She also expressed a sense of relief.
“Now people will stop talking about it,” she said.
While Pugh greatly appreciates the praise from her teammates, coaches, friends, family members and the T-V community, she is more concerned with team goals.
“I like it when my teammates score baskets,” she said. “I want us to keep winning games.”
“We’re all excited for Jakki,” T-V Coach John Tenbus said. “She scores her points in the game, but she always wants her teammates involved.”
Tenbus was pleased that his team earned another Div. V win.
“All of them played well tonight,” he said.
Tenbus noted that T-V, which was ranked 14th among Class C teams in the New York State Sportswriters Association Poll released on Jan. 30, has three key Div. V games this week.
Last night, T-V was scheduled to travel to Eldred to meet the Lady Yellowjackets. At 6:30 p.m. today, the Lady Bears will visit the Fallsburg Lady Comets. On Thursday night, the Lady Bears and Lady Yellowjackets will meet in Grahamsville.