Casey Sawhook

Casey Sawhook had a bloody nose most of that cold snowy night. But that didn't keep the Valley basketball player from getting her 1000th career point. In a game at Valley against North Catholic in the middle of December, Casey iced a shot from the line, after a foul off a lay-up she made. Officials stopped the game and gave her a ball and a banner.

"It felt great," Casey says. "I finally saw all my hard work pay off." She'll probably see a lot more. Sawhook is averaging over 22 points a game with 4-5 assists and 4-5 rebounds. The senior point guard is getting looks from UPJ, Lockhaven, North Carolina-Wilmington, and Colorado State, among others. "She is one of the very finest Valley has ever graduated," Valley girls's basketball Coach John Cope says. "She's been a 'gym-rat' [practically living in gyms from practicing so much.] That’s how you get to be good...champions are made when no one is looking."

Casey Sawhook just after scoring her 1000th point

Casey's secret of success is no secret. She works every day at her game, "off-season, on season." She played basketball in AAU for four years and also against boys. And, she also suggests another factor in her skills and abilities: "My dad and I go to the Y[MCA] everyday in the off-season. Two days a week we run, two days a week we lift."

Her dad, a Highlands standout, taught her how to shoot. Her mom taught her how to "shoot" off court. "She didn't teach me the skill aspect of the game," Casey explained, "however, she taught me commitment and perserverance, which I know will take me far, way beyond basketball."

No doubt.