In the world of sporting achievement, we like nice, round numbers, and they don’t get much nicer or rounder than 1,000.
The 1,000-point threshold has long been the benchmark of choice to measure the most prolific of scorers in high school basketball. Reaching 1,000 career points at the varsity level requires sustained production over a period of multiple seasons (two at an absolute minimum, and often three or four).
Just within the last two to three years, a handful of local luminaries on the high school hoops scene in Franklin County have finished their prep careers with more—a lot more, in some cases—than 1,000 career points: Allyson Bragwell at Belgreen, Ashley Dunstan and Bailey Motes at Russellville, Jessica Wilson and Max Nolen at Tharptown, and Allie Kennedy and Darby Madden at Red Bay. The departure of so many accomplished players in such a short window of time left a sizable void, but a new wave of prolific scorers have quickly emerged to—quite literally—fill it up.
This season is only a month old, but, through Sunday, three local players had already gained membership in the 1,000-point club. Phil Campbell senior forward Peyton Thomas scored his 1,000th career point in the Bobcats’ third game of the season at a Thanksgiving tournament in Hanceville. Abby Davis, a junior post player for the Lady Bobcats, followed suit on December 4 in a game at Lamar County, reaching the mark on a three-point basket in the first quarter. Just three days earlier, Belgreen senior sharpshooter Jasmine Martin likewise hit 1,000 in a homecoming win over Sheffield.
Those three joined Vina senior guard Abby Hester, who surpassed the mark last January in a rout of Hubbertville; through Sunday, Hester—the county’s active career scoring leader—had piled on 261 more points (20.1 per game) this season, giving her 1,328 as a varsity player.
Hester, Thomas, Davis (1,040 career points, 14.6 per game this season) and Martin (1,018 career points, 9.6 per game this season) will soon have company in the 1,000-point club. At least three other local players are poised to hit the mark this season, with a handful more on track to accomplish the feat before their careers are finished.
Junior forward Emma Humphres, a teammate of Hester’s with the Lady Red Devils, is sitting on 998 career points heading into Tuesday night’s game against Hubbertville. Odds are good that Humphres (averaging 10.3 points per game through Sunday) will cross the 1,000-point threshold on a shot from beyond the arc; she had made 27 threes in 12 games through Sunday, after making 78 as a freshman two years ago and 54 as a junior last season.
Darby Elliott, a senior guard at Phil Campbell, had scored 841 career points through Sunday; at her current rate of 9.7 points per game this season, she would reach 1,000 some time in late January or early February. Belgreen’s Mason Bragwell, a 6’5 junior post player with 817 career points through Sunday, will likely get there sooner; he is averaging a career-high 18.2 points per game this season heading into Monday’s home date with Carbon Hill.
Assuming Humphres, Elliott and Bragwell all hit the mark by season’s end, that would give Franklin County seven active 1,000-point scorers—with, potentially, several more to follow in the coming years. Nothing is guaranteed, of course, but each of the following local players is already on a path that could land them in the 1,000-point club by the time they’re done: Vina sophomore guard Kaitlyn King (778 career points through Sunday, 13.4 per game this season), Russellville junior guard Devin Buckhalter (581 career points, 14.3 per game this season), Phil Campbell sophomore guard Kallie Allen (592 career points, 11.8 per game this season), Belgreen junior guard Gabbie Moore (509 career points, 11.4 per game this season), Russellville sophomore guard Madison Murray (508 career points through Sunday, 13.5 per game this season), Belgreen junior guard Brant Bragwell (420 points since the start of last season, 18.4 per game this year) and Belgreen freshman post player Emma Dempsey (355 career points, 9.8 per game this season).
It goes without saying that there are plenty of outstanding high school basketball players who don’t score 1,000 career points; it’s hardly the only measure—and maybe not even the best one—of excellence on the hardwood. Still, the number of great players who fall short of the mark only serves to further highlight the accomplishment of those who reach it.
One thing’s for certain—each of the players listed above has a long way to go to catch Tanna Benford. Now in her first season as head coach for Tharptown’s girls, Benford finished her playing career at Phil Campbell in 2006 as Franklin County’s all-time leading scorer with 2,201 points. That number would be even higher had she not missed her entire freshman season due to a torn ACL.
Switching gears, let’s take a broader view of what’s happened so far this season, which is essentially one-third of the way to the finish line. In Franklin County, two teams—Belgreen’s boys and Phil Campbell’s girls—who were expected to be very, very good have been exactly that.
Coach Clint Isbell’s Bulldogs had to reschedule four of their first seven games for later in the season, but when they have been to able to play they’ve been highly impressive. After rallying to beat much-improved Red Bay in the season opener on November 17, Belgreen dusted Colbert County and Sheffield by 17 points each and then hit the 90-point mark twice in consecutive routs of area opponents Phillips and Vina.
The Bulldogs, boasting a 5-0 record and an average margin of victory of 23.6 points through Sunday, have been led—as expected—by their Big Three of senior point guard Jacob Mayberry and the inside-outside combo of juniors Mason Bragwell and Brant Bragwell. Mayberry was averaging a career-best 13.0 points per game through Sunday while once again keeping the pedal to the metal in Belgreen’s up-tempo attack. The 6’5 Mason Bragwell posted back-to-back 23-point outings in the wins over Colbert County and Sheffield and was averaging 18.2 points per game through Sunday, with double-figures in 34 straight dating back to last November. Brant Bragwell, meanwhile, was leading the team in both scoring (18.4 points per game, a career-high) and threes made (10) while shooting a solid 70 percent from the foul line.
The Bulldogs will put their unbeaten record on the line Monday night at home against Carbon Hill before traveling to Hackleburg for a much-anticipated showdown with the Panthers on Tuesday. Hackleburg dealt Belgreen its only loss in area play last season, and the return of high-scoring guard Collier Cantrell (who had 37 points last week in a 93-56 rout of Tharptown) has made the Panthers even more dangerous.
Speaking of dangerous, Phil Campbell’s girls have been laying waste to almost everything in their path of late, winning their last five games through Sunday by an average margin of 39.4 points. Twice already this season, the Lady Bobcats (8-2 overall heading into Monday’s trip to Winston County) have held an opponent to one made basket for the entire game; they’ve also made strides on the offensive end, averaging 65.1 points per contest.
Head coach Craig Thomas’s team is more balanced than ever, with Russellville transfer Kallie Allen (11.8 points per game and a team-high 13 threes made through Sunday) and freshman guard Caitlyn Mills (5.8 points per game, including a career-high 16 in a loss to West Point) adding some much-needed perimeter firepower. Junior post player Abby Davis (team-best 14.6 points per game through Sunday) has become a more consistent outside threat as well, knocking down one three-pointer in seven of the first ten games. Factor in veteran guards Darby Elliott (9.7 points per game), Dakota Elliott (8.8 points per game with six threes) and Chloe Roberson (7.4 points per game, 18-for-24 from the foul line), and Phil Campbell has no shortage of weapons.
The Lady Bobcats have beaten area opponents Red Bay, Lamar County and Sulligent by an average score of 65-22, but their most impressive win to date was a 67-59 victory over perennial Class 2A contender Cold Springs at Thanksgiving. Even their losses have been noteworthy; they led Class 6A Florence at the half before falling 67-57, and they lost to Class 5A West Point 80-66 while playing without both of the Elliotts, who are critical to the team’s defensive identity.
Coaches met on Monday afternoon to draw up brackets for the county tournament, which will be held at Belgreen High School next month. The Bulldogs will be the top seed on the boys’ side and will be prohibitive favorites to win a second straight crown. The Lady Bobcats will be seeded first in the girls’ bracket and will be favored to win their first county title in roughly two decades.
