Seniors Grant Bentley and Ella Proper each reached the 1,000 point milestone, and for their hard work over their careers and also this season they have been named Mount Vernon Athletes of the Week.
Bentley has led he Northmor Golden Knights to a 4-2 start, with a 2-0 record to lead the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference. He scored his 1,000th point in a win over Centerburg on Dec. 15 and then moved into third place on the list in another victory over Mount Gilead on Dec. 19. He now has 1,059 points, behind Meechie Johnson’s 1,126 points and John Loyer’s 1,479 points.
Proper hit the 1,000 point mark with a win over Fredericktown, where she led the Danville Blue Devils to 60-54 win. She is averaging about 14 points per game, three assists and 3.7 steals this year. She is leading a Danville squad that has a 7-2 record, and is on top of the KMAC. Coach Matt Proper, who has coached for 11 seasons, said Ella grew up in the gym with all of his teams and began getting involved in drills, scouting and learning the game since she was in second grade. He said she is a hard worker and is proud of her accomplishments on the court, in school and in life. He is excited to watch her and the team in the second half of the year.
“The 1,000 point club in high school basketball is a club which is very difficult to join,” said Coach Matt Proper. “Being able to achieve this milestone shows how much work a player has put into their game, and the mentality with which they approach the game. Having a player like Ella join this club, also tells a lot about the players they have played with, both past and present. I always tell our teams when one of our players reach this milestone that they should share in the pride of this accomplishment because basketball is the ultimate team sport and no player can do it alone.”
Congratulations to both Ella and Grant for becoming newest members of the 1,000 point club!
