Gator greatness
Geibel Catholic senior Larkin set to break Bortz无毛视频� scoring record, surpass 2,000 points
Emma Larkin never imagined she would be in this position.
The Geibel Catholic senior is on the verge of surpassing Shelley Bortz as the Lady Gators girls basketball all-time scoring leader as well as the 2,000-point mark.
Larkin entered the season with 1,909 points, just 68 short of Bortz无毛视频� record of 1,977. She scored 30 and 27 points as Geibel opened with wins over Carmichaels (71-16) and Beth-Center (72-24) on Friday and Saturday at Jefferson-Morgan无毛视频檚 Donna Furnier Invitational.
That leaves Larkin, an extremely versatile 5-foot-5 point guard, 11 points away from Bortz and 34 short of 2,000 heading into tonight无毛视频檚 home game against Southmoreland.
无毛视频淚 always dreamt of scoring 1,000 points but I never even thought of breaking Shelley无毛视频檚 record or getting to 2,000 points back when I started,无毛视频� said Larkin who has officially signed to continue her basketball career at NCAA Division-II Belmont Abbey in North Carolina.
Bortz set the record during the 1991-92 season when she helped Geibel reach the WPIAL championship game for the second year in a row although the Lady Gators fell short both times, to St. Francis Academy and Serra Catholic.
Larkin would love to emulate Bortz in that way as well and play in a district final. Geibel has qualified for the WPIAL playoffs in each of Larkin无毛视频檚 first three years and, after suffering first-round losses in their first two appearances, the Lady Gators reached the WPIAL semifinals last year, falling just one win short of playing at Petersen Events Center.
无毛视频淥h my gosh, dream come true,无毛视频� Larkin said of what it would mean to play there in the WPIAL championship game as a senior. 无毛视频淚 want us to get there and play on that stage with the big screen they have there and just that whole atmosphere.无毛视频�
While Bortz got there but fell short of a title she still looks back on her career with fondness.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 honored my 1,977-point record lasted 33 years,无毛视频� said Bortz, who is now an anchor/reporter at KDKA. 无毛视频淚 worked hard for every one of those points so seeing it stand that long means a lot to me. But, when Emma finally breaks it, I无毛视频檒l be the first to congratulate her.
无毛视频淚t takes something special to reach that level and I couldn无毛视频檛 be more excited to see her name at the top of that list.无毛视频�
Bortz said she would attempt to be present at tonight无毛视频檚 game but wouldn无毛视频檛 know for sure if her schedule would allow it until Monday morning.
Larkin had some doubts she无毛视频檇 ever come close to attaining such lofty heights when her career began.
Larkin transferred from Albert Gallatin to Geibel before her freshman season and played under her mother, Sara Larkin, who took over as head coach the previous year.
无毛视频淭hose first two games were rough,无毛视频� said Larkin, recalling losses at Brownsville无毛视频檚 Falcon Fest to Chartiers-Houston, 46-15, and the host Lady Falcons, 50-23.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 a new transfer coming in and I had high expectations. I was just on an undefeated team in middle school at AG. So I无毛视频檓 thinking coming into this we无毛视频檙e going to do good, we无毛视频檙e going to win. Then all those thoughts went crashing down and I was, oh no, was this the right decision?无毛视频�
The Lady Gators began Larkin无毛视频檚 freshman season 1-4 but bounced back to finish the regular season at 11-11, including 5-5 in section play to earn a playoff berth for the first time in six years.
无毛视频淥nce we got into section play and kind of settled down, I was like, OK, we无毛视频檙e not that bad, we无毛视频檙e getting better, we got this,无毛视频� Larkin said.
The 11 wins marked an extreme improvement from a team that had gone a combined 4-64 the previous four seasons with two of those wins coming in Sara无毛视频檚 first season there.
The Lady Gators went 16-7 overall and 8-2 in section play in Emma无毛视频檚 sophomore year, again qualifying for the postseason.
One of the highlights that season was a 51-point performance by Larkin at Avella that broke the school无毛视频檚 single-game scoring record previously held by 无毛视频� you guessed it 无毛视频� Bortz, with 49.
Last year the Lady Gators finished with a 22-4 record and won the section championship with a 13-1 mark. The season included a 15-game winning streak and Geibel无毛视频檚 first trip to the PIAA tournament since 1999.
Now she无毛视频檚 in her final year at Geibel.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 just crazy,无毛视频� Larkin said. 无毛视频淚t feels like my whole high school career went by in the blink of an eye. I无毛视频檝e heard other people say that and they无毛视频檙e not lying, it无毛视频檚 so true.无毛视频�
While she无毛视频檚 about to pass Bortz and the 2,000 milestone on the career scoring list, another goal is within reach, that being the Fayette County girls basketball record of 2,440 points by Albert Gallatin无毛视频檚 Loui Hall, now known as Ellen Guillard who is head coach at Taylor Allderdice无毛视频檚 girls basketball team.
Bortz and Hall are both members of the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame, putting Larkin in rare air.
Larkin does her best to try not to be distracted by all the hoopla.
无毛视频淚 try not to think about the records and the great players I无毛视频檓 chasing and keep that in the back of my head because I know if it slips into my mind I无毛视频檓 going to lose my concentration and not play well,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淚 just go in with like, execute the game plan and win, versus, oh my gosh I无毛视频檓 this many points away from whatever.
无毛视频淚 just take it one step at a time and try not to think of all that.无毛视频�
Her mother, however, is soaking it all in.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 in the mindset right now where I just really want to go slow and enjoy the season because I know this is it for Emma,无毛视频� Sara said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 amazing that she无毛视频檚 even close to Shelley because I came in here with no expectations that was going to be possible. Then the Fayette County record, I have connections to AG with Loui Hall and I played with Shauntai Hall, her older sister, when I was in high school. It无毛视频檚 like I无毛视频檓 kind of living in a fantasy right now. It无毛视频檚 awesome.
无毛视频淏ut it无毛视频檚 one of those things where you can无毛视频檛 just constantly think about all that, you have to try to focus on game by game.无毛视频�
Emma is appreciative of all that Sara has taught her as a coach, even if, as expected, the mother-daughter relationship can be a bit strained at times.
无毛视频淲e do have bad days once in a while, especially when we lose,无毛视频� Emma said with a chuckle. 无毛视频淚 would say the hardest part comes from the outside, though. People look at us and say well she无毛视频檚 the coach无毛视频檚 daughter, she just starts and scores all those points and is the captain because she无毛视频檚 the coach无毛视频檚 daughter. That无毛视频檚 not it at all.
无毛视频淔irst off when we无毛视频檙e on the court it无毛视频檚 not mom, it无毛视频檚 coach. Outside of basketball sometimes it is hard to separate mom and coach but we无毛视频檝e worked on that through the years and it无毛视频檚 gotten better. I could not imagine anybody else being my coach for my high school years. She无毛视频檚 helped so much with so many things and so many different aspects.无毛视频�
Both took a peak ahead to when Emma will go off the college at Belmont Abbey.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 going to be tough when she leaves,无毛视频� Sara said. 无毛视频淭he good thing is they livestream all of their games so I无毛视频檓 going to be able to watch whether I无毛视频檓 there or here so that无毛视频檚 a plus. And it无毛视频檚 really not that far, about six hours. We can go down and back in a weekend, no problem, and get to see her play live when they无毛视频檙e at home.
无毛视频淚 think signing day for her was a huge relief, like she knows where she无毛视频檚 going and now she can go enjoy her senior season.无毛视频�
Emma agreed.
无毛视频淚t was good to get that all taken care of and out of the way before the season,无毛视频� Emma said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 going to be different. I love my coach (Kim Lusk) there, I feel super comfortable with her. It is far away but I无毛视频檓 excited to kind of flap my wings and see how it goes.
无毛视频淚 love the campus. It无毛视频檚 kind of tucked away and quiet but not far down the road you have shops and a cute little town, and then also I无毛视频檓 just 30 minutes from Charlotte.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 going to major in biology and minor in chem and I want to go the pre-med track so after four years of undergrad I want to go to med school.无毛视频�
Before all that, Emma has her mind set on doing everything she can to help the Lady Gators have another highly successful season. She无毛视频檒l play the do-it-all role as she has in her previous three years at Geibel.
无毛视频淚 try to be everywhere, I try to be a pest, I try to rebound, I try to make good passes and try to play as good a defense as possible because you can无毛视频檛 have offense without defense,无毛视频� Emma said.
无毛视频淏asically I just want to do whatever I have to do that game to help us win.无毛视频�