By David Shaw
dshaw@salisburypost.com
GRANITE QUARRY ó The stars were all aligned for senior Ashley Collins and the East Rowan girls Friday.
Collins scored her 1,000th career point late in the third quarter, teammate Katelynne Poole poured in 24 points and the Mustangs galloped to an easy 80-33 rout of visiting Mooresville.
“It was pretty intense out there,” Collins said after East (8-4) improved to 6-1 in the NPC. “But I don’t mind pressure. That’s what turns a lump of coal into a diamond.”Collins needed 15 points to become East’s first 1,000-point scorer since Maggie Rich in 2003. Collins had 11 by the middle of the third quarter, when she was whistled for her fourth personal foul. Pressure?
“Oh my God, yes!” East coach Karen Garmon exclaimed. “You can’t help but have those kind of nervous feelings when you’re in there and wanting to score those final points. She was definitely anxious to finish.”
Collins finished with a flurry. She netted Nos. 997 and 998 when she scored on a short bank shot from the right side with 3:50 remaining in the period.
Then, with 8.4 seconds on the clock, she was fouled while driving to the basket and calmly converted two free throws to give the Mustangs a 62-23 lead.
The game was stopped while Collins presented the gameball to her father and a bouquet of flowers to her mom, both seated in the stands.
“We were all trying to get the ball to her,” said Poole, who needs 142 points to become East’s next 1,000-point scorer. “We kept giving her chances to score. You could tell she was nervous. Anyone would be. But she’s Ashley Collins, so she hung in there and got it.”
Even Mooresville coach Jim Lambert was secretly rooting for Collins.
“I did it myself in college, so I know how special it is,” he said after the Blue Devils fell to 2-8 overall and 2-4 in conference play. “It’s a great honor. I would have clapped if we were playing better. I was clapping in my mind.”
Collins wasn’t through thrilling the big crowd. Her 50-foot shot as the third quarter ended caught nothing but net but was launched a fraction of a second after the buzzer.
“That was pretty ironic,” she said, flashing a smile that invites you along for the ride. “I missed three straight layups trying to get to a thousand, then hit a 50-footer on my next shot.”
Added Poole: “I wish that would have been the 1,000-point shot. That would have really been something.”
It was still something.
“That was pretty amazing,” said Devan Corpening, another close friend and teammate. “That’s why I’m always cheering for her from the sideline.”
Collins says she remembers her first points ó a layup against Salisbury during her freshman season.
“Off a dish from Brittany Cornelius,” she reported. “It was nice.”
Garmon ó who became East’s coach in 2005, the first year for Collins and Poole ó felt personally honored last night.
“I’ve been with them all along and know it’s a great accomplishment,” she said. “I feel like I’ve been a part of it.”
mooresville (33) ó Martin 12, Smith 7, McLaughlin 5, Thomas 4, DeLaughter 2, Pridgen 2, Stockton 1.east rowan (80) ó Poole 24, Collins 15, Rankin 8, Holshouser 8, File 7, Means 5, Honeycutt 5, Sabo 4, Vanderford 3, Drew 1, Corpening.
Mooresville 8 10 5 10 ó 33
E. Rowan 17 26 19 18 ó 80