Ashley Schroer had some nerves prior to last Tuesday’s game against Madison.
The Brownstown Central senior, who has been a four-year varsity player for the Braves girls basketball team, knew she was close to hitting 1,000 points for her career, but she didn’t know how close.
Earlier that day, long before the Braves took on the Cubs, first-year coach Brandon Allman pulled Schroer into his office and told her how near to the mark she was.
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“He kind of tried to chill me out,” Schroer said. “He told me I was 10 points away and that I just needed to let the game come to me.”
Schroer scored the exact 10 points needed to achieve the milestone, something she has been working toward since her freshman year.
Though it wasn’t easy, as she’ll tell you, to score against a lengthy Madison team that has lofty goals of their own this postseason.
Many friends and family came to see Schroer hit the 1,000-point threshold, and while she was happy to have everyone present to see the moment, it did add to the nerves.
“I didn’t want to let people down because, obviously, a lot of people came to watch me,” she said.
With the 10 points scored last Tuesday and the 16 she scored to lead the Braves past Mid-Southern Conference rival Charlestown on Saturday, Schroer sits at 1,016 for her career and is just the sixth BC girls player to score 1,000 or more in her career.
There are plenty of games still to go for her to move up the charts, and now that she already achieved her goal, the points should start flowing a little easier from here on out.
“I feel really relieved,” Schroer said of getting to 1,000 points. “Now, I can just play basketball instead of worrying about getting there.”
Allman raved about Schroer’s work ethic and couldn’t be happier for her on reaching a career goal.
He said the way she transformed herself prior to this season isn’t only paying off for her but also for the team.
“She comes out, does what I ask her to do and just works her butt off,” Allman said. “It tells you a lot about how she was raised. Coming from a farm family, she knows how to work hard, and she has done that all season long.”
There’s still a lot to play for this regular season for the Braves, and they’ll need that fight and work ethic as the year wears on.
With Saturday’s win over the Pirates, the Braves sit alone at the top of the MSC thanks to Salem’s win over Silver Creek.
The Braves still have two conference games remaining, tonight against Clarksville and the regular season finale against North Harrison on Jan. 30. The Cougars also have just one loss in conference this year and have three league games coming up in a week’s time before they host the Braves.
Not many gave the Braves a shot at winning the MSC this year with many pointing to the Dragons or Lions as the favorites to win it all.
Allman said his team has embraced the underdog role and is using it to fuel their way to regular season and postseason success.
He points out, however, with their continued success, more teams will start to take notice. Yet, as long as they continue to work hard, they should continue to earn big wins and accolades.
“We have a really good group of girls that just do what I ask and buy in,” Allman said. “It has been a big change for them, and their willingness to work hard and doing what we ask has been big.”
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Hedi Rochner – 1,401
Crystal Combs – 1,191
Leah Wischmeier – 1,099
Sammie Bane – 1,055
Andrea Spurgeon – 1,046
Ashley Schroer – 1,016
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