CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - A record number of fans packed Lesley University's home basketball court to watch Courtnie Leakeas (Lowell, Mass.) make history as she became only the second basketball player in school history to pass 1,000 points for her collegiate career.
Last Friday night against Castleton State College, Leakeas, a senior guard for the Lynx, needed only six points to join Tia Cleckley as the only women's basketball players to reach the milestone.
At the 10:01 mark in the second half, Leakeas took a jumper, grabbed her own rebound and hit a lay up for the momentous basket. The game was stopped and as the crowd erupted with applause, the senior was presented with balloons, flowers, and a game-ball.
Leakeas finished with 11 points on the evening and after the weekend's games were over she now stands at 1,017 points for her career in a Lynx uniform.
Along with being an exception scorer, Leakeas is also in the top five in steals, assists, and rebounding in Lesley women's basketball history. She currently stands at 2nd all time in steals with 183, 3rd all time in assists 308, and 5th all time in rebounding with 479.
Beyond the numbers, however, Leakeas has made a lasting impressive on second year coaches Dan Hunt and Tom Fay. Head Coach Dan Hunt praised Leakeas' play by saying "In most cases, coaches are trying to hide their leading scorers on the defensive end, but we feel comfortable having Courtnie defend impact players, as she gives the same effort on that side of the ball as she does on offense."
"Courtnie has accepted much more of a leadership role this year. At the end of last season we challenged her to step up and make us notice her as someone who we needed to make a captain this year, we did not just hand it to her because she was a senior. A couple of weeks ago, it became apparent that she had grown into that role and we named her captain. I think from our end, as coaches, this is the ultimate measure of respect, as leadership is a trait I truly value, and now she is a team leader."
As the Lynx continue get close to the final stretch of North Atlantic Conference opponents in the month of February, the team will look for their leading scorer to catapult them into the playoffs for the first time in several years.