Town and Country Newspaper

Sports Article

Auckland Joins Basketball's 1,000 Point Club

Written by Rachael Keeney, Correspondent
2013-02-13

Upper Perk senior Stacey Auckland scored her 1,000th point last Thursday night in a non-league game at Christopher Dock.

Basketball is notorious for the amount of pushing and shoving that takes place upon the polished hardwood, yet Upper Perkiomen High School’s girls basketball center, Stacey Auckland, was pushed in a way dissimilar to that of her fellow teammates.

Working low post to high post alike, there was no doubt that with a little extra encouragement, Auckland would be able to reach a total of at least 1,000 points during her high school career; a goal that the senior accomplished on Feb. 7, during an away game at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School in Lansdale.

“After I made the shot, I heard the stands go crazy and I could feel my team surrounding me. It didn’t really hit me until I hugged my brothers and saw how proud they were of me. To me, it felt like a whole team accomplishment because my team had everything to do with it,” Auckland reminisced.

“My coaches made me work hard every time I was in the gym. My family told me to play with all my heart, [and] by [my teammates] playing hard and pushing me to work harder, I was able to practice game-like situations.”

Auckland continued to explain her success by referencing not just individuals, but also motivational moments in her basketball career such as “watching Morgan Ricapito get her 1,000 points [and] seeing the pieces fall together at the end of last year.”

Witnessing the same events, varsity head coach Pete Sovia will remember not only these season-defining occurrences, but also the joy Auckland displayed during Thursday’s game.

Sovia reflected, “Stacey has been a pleasure to coach these past four seasons. She has worked and practiced to realize her potential, and [has] mostly achieved success the hard way, against bigger and sometimes more experienced players.”

Auckland plans on attending Delaware Valley College for agribusiness and continuing to play basketball.

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