Russellville’s Copeland makes program history with 2,000th career point

History was made Tuesday night.

In nearly 50 years of Russellville High School varsity girls’ basketball, a lot of players have donned the black and gold, but none can claim what Ella Copeland achieved in her team’s regular season finale as the junior became the first player in the history of the Lady Golden Tigers’ basketball program to score 2,000 career points.

Copeland, now certainly the most prolific scorer in program history, reached the 1,000 career points milestone last season against Phil Campbell before she hit her next momentous milestone against the same Lady Bobcats team on Tuesday night. According to records compiled by the RHS coaching staff, she needed just nine points going into the contest to hit 2,000; she quickly reached that point in the first period of play.

During halftime of the proceeding boys’ basketball game, Copeland was recognized mid-court for her achievement and was presented with a banner and golden ball by her head coach, Jermaine Groce.

Groce called Copeland “special” and praised her for her work ethic and ability to overcome adversity.

“She’s special and she’s always had an ability to put up points in bunches. She’s relentless, she’s a hard worker, a competitor, and we’re super proud of her for what she’s done on this journey to accomplish it,” Groce said in a postgame radio interview on WGOL 100.7 FM. “You know she missed half the year last year with her ACL injury, and she’s just had the resolve to continue to work. We’re just super happy for her.”

Russellville High School junior Ella Copeland, left, is presented with a banner and golden ball commemorating her scoring her 2,000th career point. She is pictured with RHS head coach Jermaine Groce.

For Copeland, reaching the record-breaking moment came without much premeditation—just a lot of hours in the gym, some help from friends, and faith.

“When I first started playing in seventh grade, I wasn’t thinking about records or milestones like that, I was just focused on getting better every day and helping my team however I could,” she said. “To reach 2,000 points is honestly pretty surreal, and I’m really grateful for it. It’s a reflection of a lot of hard work over the years, but also of my teammates trusting me, my coaches pushing me, my family supporting me, and keeping my faith in Jesus.

“It means a lot to me. I’ve put in so many hours in the gym and worked through a lot of ups and downs, so to see that hard work pay off is really special. I’m really thankful for the moment and proud of what I’ve accomplished, but I also see it as motivation to keep getting better,” she added.

Copeland, who is averaging 25.2 points per game this campaign, would go on to finish with 26 points against Phil Campbell. Russellville got the win, too, beating the Lady Bobcats 77-61.

The Lady Golden Tigers jumped out to a 20-12 lead after the opening quarter and had doubled up on Phil Campbell 44-22, by halftime. Going into the final period of play, Russellville had a 26-point advantage so Groce chose to play some of his younger reserves which allowed PCHS to cut into its deficit. Still, RHS went on to win by a healthy 16-point margin and improve to 17-11 overall.

In addition to Copeland’s game-high tally, senior Laila Hill and sophomore Angeleah Smith contributed 15 points and 10 points, respectively. Sophomore Sadie Odom scored nine points for the Lady Golden Tigers and Elizabeth Davis, an eighth-grader, had eight.

Next up, Russellville will host rival Lawrence County in the Class 5A Area 15 tournament semifinal, a matchup almost guaranteed to include fireworks. The winner of that game will travel to take on No. 4-ranked West Point in the area championship.

After her landmark achievement Tuesday night, Copeland admitted 3,000 points may be a project for later but right now her only focus is her team’s objectives. That means, for starters, taking down Russellville’s two area foes.

“Right now, my biggest goal is winning an area championship and making a deep playoff run with this team. That’s what means the most to me, especially with the group we have this year,” she said.

Concurring with Copeland, Groce said the Lady Golden Tigers’ concentration is all on that contest with Lawrence County as winning it will promise RHS at least two more games.

“We need all the fans, everyone in the city to come out and support our Lady Tigers as we push towards this area championship opportunity,” he said. “Lawrence County is tough, they’re always going to bring a fan base that travels, they’re always fiery and competitive, so we need to match their energy with our fans.

“We win that game and we earn two more,” he added. “We’re not overlooking Lawrence County, but if we win we get a sub-region game and we’ve got a puncher’s chance against West Point who we always go and compete well with in the area tournament. But if not, I think we’ve got crossover (in the sub-region) with some favorable matchups.

“We’ve set some records this year. This team has the most wins in the regular season for a decade. I think this team has a really decent chance of making it to Wallace (the regional tournament). Obviously we’ve got to handle our business every time we step on the court, but we’re optimistic about what we have.”

Tip-off of the area semifinal between Russellville and Lawrence County is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, February 6. The game will be played at the Russellville Middle School gymnasium.