Entering the contest, Black Knights’ senior Abby Rice was just 9 points shy of 2,000 career point. And in spite of the loss and how long in the game Chautauqua Lake made her wait, Rice added yet another accolade to what has been a special high school career.

“It means everything,” said Rice. “I’ve worked my whole life to grow and be a great basketball player and my goal was to play in college. This is just another step in growing my game and it shows my love and dedication to the sport.”

With 10 seconds off the clock in the fourth quarter, Rice found herself at the free throw line for two shots, with 7 points to that point. Upon converting both free throws and officially entering the record books, the game was paused and Rice was given an on-court celebration, which featured contributions from both Silver Creek and Chautauqua Lake. Rice went as far to say that, next to her home court, Chautauqua Lake was the next best place to get the milestone.

“I was kind of upset having to score my 2,000th point not in my own gym, but if I was going to do it in any other place, it would be here,” said Rice. “I play AAU with Lily (Woodis of Chautauqua Lake) so I wasn’t only getting it with my Silver Creek teammates, but I was getting it with my offseason teammate.”

Chautauqua Lake’s Lily Woodis, left, and Silver Creek’s Jade Bouvier battle for a rebound during Friday’s game in Mayville. P-J photo by Scott Reagle

Rice’s coaches, her parents, Tammy and Kevin, had a commemorative ball ready to celebrate the accomplishment, it was Woodis, who presented Rice with the ball and a congratulatory hug.

“She is the most spectacular player I know,” said Woodis. “She is the kindest, most encouraging player ever and she is a phenomenal basketball player. I just love her and I love that I got to have that moment with her.”

Rice would end up with 12 points, and Chautauqua Lake certainly did not make it easy for her. From the opening tip, Rice was face-guarded and double-teamed. And Rice’s inability to lose defenders, with sophomore Taylor Donato getting a heavy dose of the Rice assignment, coincided with the rest of her teammates going ice cold, as the Lady T-Birds took advantage early.

“That was part of our game plan, obviously,” said Chautauqua Lake coach Bill Persons. “You know she’s the spotlight player for them and she’s just an all-around great kid. From hearing my kids talk, they really respect her. They were just as happy when she got her 2,000th point.”

More than halfway through the opening quarter, Woodis and Donato made their mark on the scoreboard. Donato hit a 3-pointer to give Chautauqua Lake an 8-4 lead, before Woodis scored 5 points and Donato finished with another 3-point play, giving the Thunderbirds a 16-6 lead after the first period.

Silver Creek continued to struggle into the second quarter, with the suffocating defense on Rice continuing to stifle the Silver Creek offense. Meanwhile, the Lady T-Birds were helped out on the offensive glass, converting several second-chance opportunities. Sophomore Ava Olson went on a 6-0 run herself in the middle stages of the second quarter, and heading into halftime, Donato hit a long two at the buzzer to extend the lead to 29-14 heading into the break.

“This game was our biggest struggle,” said Tammy Rice. “We dug a deep hole. Chautauqua Lake came ready to play , they beat us to the boards, they were aggressive, and they did an excellent job denying Abby.”

The third quarter featured more of the same. Rice got to 7 points right at the beginning of the frame, and Maider Arenas followed with a basket to give Silver Creek a little bit of a jolt of offense, but Chautauqua Lake’s Natalie Gilkinson followed Olson’s lead from the second quarter and scored 4 points herself, followed by another 6 points from Woodis to extend the lead to 37-18. Getting scoring from Olson and Gilkinson, to go with Woodis’ production was something Persons was happy to see, especially as he only had six girls available for the game.

“It was a tale of two sides,” said Persons. “Ava gave us eight points in the first half, and Natalie gave us eight points in the second half, and Lily gave us 12 total… The girls all played a great game and I was really proud of Ava and Natalie… With only six tonight, it gets a little hard to rotate and it was kind of a late notice that we were only having six.”

Though the game looked out of reach at the end of the third, with the score 41-20, Rice achieving the milestone seemingly lit a fire under her team. The Lady Black Knights took Rice’s two points and ran, scoring nine more consecutively after that, closing the deficit to 41-31. Gilkinson responded with two baskets of her own, but the Lady Black Knights were able to cut the deficit all the way down to seven points, at 45-38, with only a few moments remaining, but one last Gilkinson bucket squashed the comeback attempt. Tammy Rice said the team fixed a lot of their mistakes from earlier in the game, leading to their comeback attempt.

“When we entered the game, there was zero conversation before the game about her 2,000 points,” said Tammy Rice. “The girls didn’t even know we were stopping the game, none of that. So, I was hoping it would ease some of the pressure, but I think it was still there. After that, we relaxed and started connecting.”

Woodis and Rice each finished with 12 points to lead all scorers. For Chautauqua Lake, Gilkinson ended with 11 points, while Olson and Donato each scored 8. Emma Wolcott added 5 points, and Emma Lindsey scored 3. On top of her 12 points, Rice added 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and three blocks, while Jade Bouvier scored 10 points and had seven rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Malani Eldridge scored 9 points with five rebounds, while Arenas scored 5 points, and Cam Karcz had 2.

When the final buzzer sounded, Rice found herself among the high school basketball elite, achieving a milestone that few players even come close to. Surrounded by friends, family, and teammates, she got to celebrate her accomplishment with everything a player could want, except for one thing — a win.

The win would instead go to Rice’s friend, teammate, and person who referred to Rice as her idol, Lily Woodis, who, through respect and a smile, said she was happy with the exchange.

The Lady T-Birds (3-5, 2-2) will next take on Southwestern on Wednesday at Southwestern High School, while the Lady Black Knights (7-4, 0-3) will play North Collins on the same day, at Silver Creek. Rice will have another day of recognition, as she, Eldridge, Carz, Bouvier, and Emily Schneider will be honored for senior night.