FRILLS CORNERS, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Lily Homan is relieved.
The North Clarion senior point guard no longer has the specter of reaching 1,000 career points hanging over her head.
It didn’t take her long to get it out of the way on Wednesday night in a 45-24 win over Keystone. She needed just four to do it after a 32-point outburst on Monday.
Those points came quickly. Homan ended up with 15 in the win and now has 1,011 in her career.
(Pictured above, Lily Homan poses after surpassing 1,000 career points/photo by Dave Cyphert of ProPoint Media Photography)
“Now I can focus on working with my team and being a better player,” Homan said.
“It really does mean a lot to me,” she added. “It’s a big achievement and I really couldn’t have done it without my team. Having them be there and supportive — I just really appreciate them.”
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Homan began thinking 1,000 points was possible before last season.
She was a standout during her freshman and sophomore years at Venango Catholic before that program was scuttled because of poor numbers and joined a co-op with Cranberry.
Homan decided to transfer instead to North Clarion, where she put up a solid season last year as a junior.
She was closing in on the milestone and the end of the campaign, but had to sit out the playoffs because of the transfer rule.
That was a difficult thing for her to do.
“It was hard, watching from the sidelines while my team was playing,” she said. “It was challenging, but I just knew that my senior year I would be back and I was determined to do my best to help us win.”
This year, she has a familiar face on the bench with her.
After longtime North Clarion coach Terry Dreihaup stepped down after last season, Skip Homan was hired to replace him.
Lily Homan got to score her 1,000th career point with her dad as her coach again.
“I mean, it’s nice. It can definitely be challenging at times with my dad back as my coach,” Homan said. “It’s kind of what I’m used to. Terry was a great coach and my dad, I’m used to his style. It was nice to have him back.”
Homan said she enjoyed her time at Venango Catholic and was sad to see the poor numbers finally catch up to the program.
“The people were great. My teammates were great,” Homan said. “I liked it. But the numbers were small and that was challenging. It was really fun and I really enjoyed my team.”
She’s certainly enjoying the team she is now.
Homan admits last year was a struggle at times as she was trying to get accustomed to a new school, new team and a new coaching staff.
This year she said she feels more comfortable and it has shown on the court of late.
“I feel like this season has been smoother for me,” Homan said. “We’re doing pretty well this year. We did lose some of our height, which is a bummer, but I think we’re picking it up. We’re doing some pretty good things this season and I’m excited to see where we can go.”
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