The women’s basketball game against Notre Dame of Maryland on Monday, Jan. 12, at home was truly a night to remember. Amber Keys, a senior elementary and special education major who plays forward on the team, accomplished her 1000th point while Megan Decker, a senior education major who plays guard, also reached her 500th rebound in the same evening.
Keys has been playing basketball almost her whole life but achieving her 1000th career point was something that has never happened before for her. “Coming into Cabrini, it wasn’t something that I expected to have,” Keys said. “I was just determined to work hard with my team and do what my team and coaches needed me to do so I guess it did just kind of happened.”
Although Decker has only been playing for four years, she is an important asset to the team. This accomplishment was not a goal to Decker. In fact, she did not know it was a possibility until the day before the game. “I was only two rebounds away so it was really cool just knowing that it wasn’t something I was working towards, it was just something that kind of happened,” Decker said. “I didn’t feel like it would be a big deal but 500 rebounds in four years is something that I’ll be able to take with me.”
Both Keys and Decker agree that hard work pays off. Keys gives credit to her 7 a.m. preseason pool, yoga and sprint work outs as well as 6 a.m. practices while Decker appreciates her hard work on box out drills and practicing defense.
The two seniors have a great relationship on the court. Keys said, “We know what the other one is thinking and I honestly don’t know if I could have reached 1000 points without her and the rest of my team because they do such a good job of getting me the ball.” Decker agrees with the good team work and knew that she needed her 1000th going in to the game. “She was only four points away and the only thing I wanted to help her out with was to get her an assist.” Decker was able to pass her the ball for her to score her 1000th point and then about two minutes later, got the 500th rebound.
In the same game, they were both able to enter the record book together.
The team is currently 12-3 and hopes to continue to move on further. They will continue on to games in the conference, which will then lead to playoffs. Decker said, “I’m really taking pride in how our team is working every day on the court and off the court and I’m looking to lead our team to another championship.”
Keys had a total of 14 points in the record breaking game for the team while Decker had seven rebounds and is currently 12 steals away from her 200th steal.
Both players have more than just these two great career milestones in common. They both are extremely grateful for their coaches, family and teammates to get them to this point of success.
@abbierosekeefe
