ST. MARYS, Pa. – Jayssa Snelick wasted little time in becoming the first St. Marys girls player in 11 years to reach 1,000 career points Tuesday night in a 58-51 win over visiting Punxsutawney that gave the Lady Dutch control of the D9 League.
Milestones: Burchard 1,000 • Berdine 300th win • Boys Recaps • Girls Recaps
Also see: Feb. 6 Girls Recaps
Needing five tallies to reach the mark, Snelick delivered 10 first-quarter points and 23 in the game.
After scoring her first two points of the game from the line, she got a steal and a spinning layup in transition to get within one point of the milestone.
The historic shot then came a few minutes later when she took an inbounds pass above the circle, drove the lane, spun, and hit a layup for points 1,000 and 1,001
Watch the moment here
Named the Allegheny Grille of Foxburg Player of the Game, Snelick discussed the victory and her milestone on the Cole Orthodontic Associates Postgame interview.
The milestone came in an important win for the Lady Dutch (17-3 overall, 8-1 D9 League) who can do no worse than a tie for the league title and can take the outright crown, which would be their first since 2011, with a win over Elk County Catholic on Saturday, Feb. 10, at ECC.
Rewatch the full game here
It was a fast start that helped St. Marys.
The Lady Dutch, behind Snelick’s 10 points, led 18-8 at the end of the first quarter then built the lead to 17, 34-17, at halftime thanks in part to a pair of Alexa Schneider 3-pointers.
Punxsutawney (15-3, 6-2), which needs league wins over DuBois and Bradford coupled with an ECC win over St. Marys, to get into a 3-way tie for the league title, tried to rally in the third quarter thanks to the long ball.
The Lady Chucks nailed five third-quarter 3-pointers, including four from Emily McMahan, to get back within seven, 47-40, going to the fourth quarter.
The long-range attack continued in the fourth with Danielle Griebel hitting three more threes but St. Marys held off the attack thanks to a Molly Hansolvan 3-pointer and a 4 of 6 performance from the line.
Schneider added 16 points for St. Marys with Hansolvan contributing 11 tallies.
Griebel had 22 points for the Lady Chucks, who have won every league title contested for since 2016 (seven as there was no league season in 2021 due to the COVID-19 bubble). She also dished out four assists, had five steals, and grabbed three rebounds./
Thanks to the four triples, McMahan added 12 points for Punxsy, while Avary Powell had 10 points and five rebounds.
NOTES: While becoming the eighth Lady Dutch player to hit 1,000 points, Snelick is the first since Adair Gennocro finished her career with 1,104 points in 2013.
ST. MARYS 1,000-POINT SCORERS THROUGH FEB. 6, 2024
1. Kayla Hoohuli – 2011 – 2,604
2. Kali Carnovale – 2004 – 1,418
3. Molly Carr – 1995 – 1,310
4. Emily Kurtz – 1999 – 1,293
5. Jamie Simbeck – 1996 – 1,207
6. Audra Huggler – 2004 – 1,111
7. Adair Gennocro – 2013 – 1,104
8. Jayssa Snelick – 2024 – 1,018 (Through Feb. 6, 2024)
