By Preston Williams,
Feb 18, 2013 06:49 PM ESTThe Washington Post http://virginiapreps.rivals.com/#license-0fb734a2-79d2-11e2-9a75-dab0201670daMonday, February 18, 10:49 AM
There was no fanfare after Breyana Mason drove to the hoop on Saturday night to score the basket that pushed her past Monica Wright to become the all-time scoring leader both at her school and in Prince William County girls' basketball history.
And that's just the way the reserved Mason had requested it. The Bruins did acknowledge the feat with a simple mention over the public address system at the end of the first quarter, after the 5-foot-9 left-handed point guard had scored the nine points she needed to overtake Wright.
There had been more fanfare when Mason 71-41, led by Mason's 26 points, to advance to play at Roanoke school William Fleming in the region quarterfinals Tuesday. William Fleming knocked out the Bruins in the region semifinals last season.
"It's just a great honor, very humbling," said the soft-spoken Mason, who as Wright did, will play at the University of Virginia. "I'm just thankful that I have such wonderful teammates and coaches that helped me along the way and helped make my high school career such a great experience. I never would have thought that I would be able to accomplish this."
Mason played varsity basketball in the seventh and eighth grade at 2005 All-Met player of the year and a McDonald's all-American, helped lead Forest Park to two state titles and currently plays in the WNBA for the Minnesota Lynx.
Mason's record-breaking night occurred in front of a sparse crowd on what likely was her final game on her home court. Forest Park Coach Rebecca Tillett was there for the first 1,905 points but not for the latest 26. She was serving a one-game suspension for receiving two technical fouls in the previous game, a loss to No. 9 Potomac (Va.) in the Cardinal District championship.
Tillett, who accompanied Mason on many recruiting trips, messaged her before the game Saturday to tell her how much she's enjoyed coaching her.
Forest Park assistant Donnie Gallitz, who while head coach at Gar-Field last season was the opposing coach on the night when Mason scored her 1,000th point, served as head coach for the Bruins (18-7) on Saturday.
"We knew when she came here we had something special," said Gallitz, a Forest Park assistant before he went to Gar-Field. "She's steady. She can score 20 points and it doesn't seem like she has 20 points. What people don't know is that she gets a lot of triple-doubles. It's not like a Jason Kidd triple-double where you get 10-10-10. She's still scoring 25 points and sharing the ball. There's times she's 50 percent of our offense."
Feb 18, 2013 06:49 PM ESTThe Washington Post http://virginiapreps.rivals.com/#license-0fb734a2-79d2-11e2-9a75-dab0201670daMonday, February 18, 10:49 AM
There was no fanfare after Breyana Mason drove to the hoop on Saturday night to score the basket that pushed her past Monica Wright to become the all-time scoring leader both at her school and in Prince William County girls' basketball history.
And that's just the way the reserved Mason had requested it. The Bruins did acknowledge the feat with a simple mention over the public address system at the end of the first quarter, after the 5-foot-9 left-handed point guard had scored the nine points she needed to overtake Wright.
There had been more fanfare when Mason 71-41, led by Mason's 26 points, to advance to play at Roanoke school William Fleming in the region quarterfinals Tuesday. William Fleming knocked out the Bruins in the region semifinals last season.
"It's just a great honor, very humbling," said the soft-spoken Mason, who as Wright did, will play at the University of Virginia. "I'm just thankful that I have such wonderful teammates and coaches that helped me along the way and helped make my high school career such a great experience. I never would have thought that I would be able to accomplish this."
Mason played varsity basketball in the seventh and eighth grade at 2005 All-Met player of the year and a McDonald's all-American, helped lead Forest Park to two state titles and currently plays in the WNBA for the Minnesota Lynx.
Mason's record-breaking night occurred in front of a sparse crowd on what likely was her final game on her home court. Forest Park Coach Rebecca Tillett was there for the first 1,905 points but not for the latest 26. She was serving a one-game suspension for receiving two technical fouls in the previous game, a loss to No. 9 Potomac (Va.) in the Cardinal District championship.
Tillett, who accompanied Mason on many recruiting trips, messaged her before the game Saturday to tell her how much she's enjoyed coaching her.
Forest Park assistant Donnie Gallitz, who while head coach at Gar-Field last season was the opposing coach on the night when Mason scored her 1,000th point, served as head coach for the Bruins (18-7) on Saturday.
"We knew when she came here we had something special," said Gallitz, a Forest Park assistant before he went to Gar-Field. "She's steady. She can score 20 points and it doesn't seem like she has 20 points. What people don't know is that she gets a lot of triple-doubles. It's not like a Jason Kidd triple-double where you get 10-10-10. She's still scoring 25 points and sharing the ball. There's times she's 50 percent of our offense."
