In the history of Emmaus girls’ basketball, only 11 players are part of the 1,000-career point club.
On Thursday night, Gabby DeVita added her name to that exclusive list.
The senior standout, who entered play with 987 career points, became just the 12th player at Emmaus High School to reach the milestone as her team posted a 63-44 rout over Dieruff before a nice-sized crowd at ‘The Hive.’
DeVita wound up the night scoring 13 points, exactly the number she needed to become the first girl’s basketball player to reach 1,000 points since Kristen Scheitrum did it back in 2007. She scored 10 points in the first quarter and then hit a 3-pointer with 59.8 seconds left in the second quarter to reach the milestone, setting off a wild celebration.
“I’ve been waiting for this my whole high school career, so just getting that 3-pointer to go in and see everyone jump and my teammates run to me was just an amazing feeling,” said DeVita during the post-game on The Eastern Pa. Sports Network’s LIVE coverage.
“It was amazing to reach 1,000 career points here at home having everyone here to support me. My family, my friends, neighbors, just everyone. It was a great moment.”
It was also a moment her coach was proud of.
“This is why you play the game. You hope as a high school player that you can put yourself in a position to score 1,000 points in your career,” said Avon Mack, the Hornets second year head coach. “I know she worked hard for it. She had a phenomenal season last year and I know it was a huge weight lifted off of her shoulders.”
Devita wound up fouling out of the game with 4:50 left in the fourth quarter, but it hardly mattered as the Hornets had a comfortable lead as they won their sixth straight game to improve to 6-1 overall and 6-0 in the EPC.
Senior Olive Whitney wound up leading Emmaus in scoring on the night with a career-high 16 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Sophomore Gracie Ervin also reached double figures for the fourth consecutive game finishing with 10 points, while classmate Eva Glover wound up with nine.
“We have this thing with Olive where she catches the ball and sometimes thinks about it and I told her that she just needs a step and if it’s open let it fly,” said Mack of Whitney who had three 3-pointers in the game. “I told her that coming out of halftime. Don’t even think about it, just shoot it and you saw what happened.
Added Mack: “Those sophomores are talented. They are just cracking their potential and I’m just curious to see how far they can go. Everyone contributed tonight.”
Emmaus led from start to finish, jumping out to 17-12 lead after one quarter and building the advantage to nine (31-22) at the break. The Hornets then put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring the Huskies 19-4.
Dieruff was paced by senior Jayla Rosario who scored a game-high 19 points. The Huskies, who shot just 39 percent from the free-throw line (13 of 33) dropped to 3-3 in the EPC and 5-3 overall.
Both teams were plagued with turnovers in the game with the Huskies turning it over 24 times and Emmaus 21. There were a combined 54 free throws attempted in the game.
Up next for the Hornets will be a Saturday afternoon matchup at 1 p.m. at home against rival Parkland. Catch all the action LIVE on The Eastern Pa. Sports Network. Listen: https://easternpasportsnet1.mixlr.com/events/4737192
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Emmaus 63, Dieruff 44
Die – Aniya Holder 3 0-0 7, Justyce McChristian 0, Yalitza Figueroa 3 1-3 7, Nylyn Gomez 2 4-9 8, Jayla Rosario 6 7-17 19, Milly Matos 0, Dana Barsky 0, Janaya Page 0, Janiyah Brockington 0, Jenni Cerda 0 1-2 1, Dede Rivera 1 0-0 2, Paolo Leon 0. Totals: FG 15, FT 13-33, 3s (1 – Holder)
Em – Olive Whitney 5 3-3 16, Eva Glover 4 1-2 9, Gabby DeVita 3 5-6 13, Gracie Ervin 4 2-4 10, Sierra Stevens 2 0-0 5, Kaitlyn Grochowski 0, Olivia Haberl 0 3-3 3, Camryn Harp 0 1-2 1, Makayla McGinnis 0, Sophia Shutkufski 2 1-1 6, Julianna Montero 0, Gabby East 0. Totals: FG 20, FT 16-21, 3s (7 – Whitney 3, DeVita 2, Shutkufski, Stevens)
Die – 12-10-4-18 – 44
Em – 17-14-19-13 – 63
Listen to a replay of the game, including post-game interviews with coach Avon Mack and Gabby DeVita: https://easternpasportsnet1.mixlr.com/recordings/2980420