Sports
All-Time Girls Basketball Scoring Record Broken At MPA
Isis Rodriguez broke a 14-year-old school record for career points scored during a Morgan Park Academy win over Elgin Academy.
CHICAGO, IL - Morgan Park Academy has a new all-time girls basketball scoring record holder. Isis Rodriguez, a senior guard for the Warriors, became the top scorer in program history during a win over Elgin Academy on Dec. 2. With 1,278 points after that game, Rodriguez surpassed the previous record held by 2004 MPA alum Lopa Pandya. Pandya had 1,273 points in her high school career.
“I never in a million years expected this,” Rodriguez said. “But freshman year, when I had 198 points, and then 400-something sophomore year, it gave me a lot of confidence that I could score that many points.”
Only two players in MPA boys basketball history have more points than Rodriguez: Damon Williams, a 2010 graduate, scored 2,012 points, and Eric Kelly, a 2001 graduate, had 1,480 points.
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Rodriguez needed 15 points to break Pandya's record heading into the game against Elgin at the ISL Girls Basketball Classic at University High and scored 20 in the team's 70-48 win.
MPA Girls Basketball Head Coach Tom Drahozal said Rodriguez said it has been an honor to coach Rodriguez for the past four years.
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“We are proud of her reaching this mark and establishing herself among the best players in program history," he said. "I look forward to inducting her into our sports hall of fame some day.”
With the majority of her senior season still ahead of her, Rodriguez has a chance to set a mark that will be difficult for others to break for years to come.
“We have nearly 20 games left this season,” Drahozal said, “so I’m sure she will end up establishing a record that will be around for many years and will be something for future players to strive for.”
MPA GIRLS BASKETBALL CAREER SCORING LEADERS
1. Isis Rodriguez '18 -- 1,278 points
2. Lopa Pandya '04 -- 1,273 points
3. Gabrielle Ogbevire '16 -- 1,230 points
4. Christine Linnerud '01 -- 1,165 points
5. Liana Akkawi '08 -- 1,105 points
6. Jaclyn Mortimer '01 -- 1,062 points
7. Shaneah Taylor '01 -- 1,051 points
8. Kate Kozacik Galley '93 -- 1,000-plus points (Full statistics were not kept in 1993).
Photos courtesy of Morgan Park Academy
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