GREENFIELD — Two points away from history, Madison Wise had a clear look at the basket, even though her internal counter was running blind.
Hauling in an outlet pass off a Yorktown turnover with less than six minutes remaining in the first half on Tuesday night, Wise stuck to her routine, sprinting down the floor as she buried her 767th career field goal with an uncontested layup.
It wasn’t until play stopped, after the ball fell through the net, that the Greenfield-Central senior realized the magnitude of the moment.
“I honestly didn’t know how many points I had,” Wise remarked on the record-setting bucket. “When (Greenfield-Central head coach Doug Laker) called timeout, I kind of got the hint.”
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryFor the second consecutive game, Wise was honored on the court. For the first time in Hancock County history, a girls player reached the previously unobtainable.
Wise finished with 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting to push her career-point total to 2,002 and helped the Cougars celebrate an 81-29 victory against visiting Hoosier Heritage Conference foe Yorktown (9-9, 2-4 HHC) on senior night.
“That’s pretty amazing. It’s an awesome feat, and again, to get to that feat you have to have a lot of great teammates, and she’s had quite a few the past four years of her career,” Laker said. “I’m very happy for her, and it couldn’t have happened to a better person.”
With 21 points against Mt. Vernon this past Friday, Wise became the county’s all-time leading scorer in girls basketball at 1,986, surpassing Butler freshman Sydney Shelton (1,985), a 2016 Mt. Vernon graduate.
Wise, an Iowa State signee, only needed 14 points on Tuesday to become the fifth girls player in state history to have at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career.
Princeton’s Jackie Young, the 2016 Indiana Miss Basketball award winner, finished her career with 3,268 points and 1,090 rebounds. Ben Davis’ Shyra Ely, who was the 2001 Indiana Miss Basketball, had 1,218 rebounds and 2,004 career points in 2001.
In 1993, Charlestown graduate and Indiana Miss Basketball winner Abby Conklin had 1,269 career rebounds and 2,616 points. Stephanie White of Seeger, who was voted the Indiana Miss Basketball winner in 1995, posted 1,109 rebounds and 2,869 points.
“When I saw her play in junior high, I though it was possible,” Laker remarked on Wise’s production over the past four years. “I thought she was a special talent. You don’t get those types of special talents a lot. Then you put her in there with Katie (Helgason), another special talent, and you don’t see that very often in a program.”
Wise, who already owns both the school’s career scoring and rebound records, added six boards during the Cougars’ (15-9, 5-2 HHC) regular-season home finale. Her career total now stands at 1,048.
Wise converted her first four attempts from the field, scoring nine points against Yorktown, including a 3-pointer for the first bucket of the game. Wise, a 2017 McDonald’s All American Game nominee, opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer before joining the state’s and county’s most exclusive club.
Overall, Wise is the third player in county history to surpass 2,000 career points. The feat was achieved by Greenfield’s Mike Edwards (2,343 in 1969) and John Hamilton (2,064 in 2000).
“It’s pretty exciting, but more importantly our team played really well tonight,” Wise said while deflecting attention from herself. “Kate Real hit huge threes, all the seniors scored, and the bench came in and gave us a lot of energy.”
While the Cougars seniors poured in a combined 45 points, including a game-high 22 points from Helgason, the team set a new school record with 16 3-pointers made.
Helgason, a Ball State recruit, had five 3-pointers — three in the second half alone — and Real had five with three falling in consecutive attempts.
“Obviously, it was a pretty big night,” Wise said. “It being senior night and then having these records be broken, it’s pretty neat, and I know we’ll all remember it.
“(2,000) wasn’t something I actually thought about, but I knew coming in I had really good teammates all four years, and obviously, they showed that tonight. They’ve been showing that for the last four years. I can only thank them.”
