NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Mylee Harmon sprinted down the court, a clear path to the hoop.
She put up a left-handed layup that kissed softly off the glass and fell through the net for two points.
Not just any two points for the guard on the Redbank Valley girls basketball team.
A milestone two points.
(Pictured above, Redbank Valley junior Mylee Harmon became just the 10th girls basketball player in school history to reach 1,000 career points)
With that layup — something of a signature in Harmon’s career so far — she reached 1,000 career points, becoming just the 10th Redbank Valley girls basketball player in history to do it.
She thrust her left hand in the air in celebration as the game was stopped and her teammates flocked around her in celebration on Redbank’s home floor on Wednesday night.
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“Once I got it, it was just the best feeling I’ve ever felt,” Harmon said. “Everyone’s standing and clapping. It was just amazing to have everyone there.”
Harmon needed 21 points to reach the mark against Clarion-Limestone.
While she didn’t count the points in her head during the game, she had help from her coaches and her mother in the bleachers.
They were tallying them up for her. And there were a lot to tally in a game the Bulldogs and Harmon dominated.
Just before her milestone layup with 1:55 remaining in the second quarter that gave Redbank a 46-13 lead, she knew she was one basket shy.
It was important for Harmon to reach 1,000 at home, and she knew she would have precious few opportunities to do that.
Only three of the Bulldogs’ first 17 games are inside Redbank’s gym. Wednesday’s game against Clarion-Limestone was the first.
“It kind of worked out perfectly,” Harmon said. “My community is the greatest. They support me through everything, so I really wanted them all to be there and be able to watch it. I didn’t want it to be far away so they wouldn’t have to travel.”
Harmon needed 72 to reach 1,000 coming into the season. She reached that mark in just the fourth game of her junior campaign — a prodigious pace.
Harmon said she tried to balance getting it out of the way on Wednesday against C-L with just allowing the game to unfold organically.
She texted with former teammate Alivia Huffman, now a freshman at PennWest California, for advice on how to deal with being so close to 1,000.
Huffman reached that mark last season and was in the crowd on Wednesday to watch her former teammate do the same.
“She told me to just play my game,” Harmon said. “She made the trip from college to come watch me tonight, so big thanks to her for that. She definitely was a big part of it, especially last year and freshman year when we were the duo. She definitely got me those points.”
Harmon finished with 25 in the 71-41 victory over the Lions that moved Redbank to 4-0 this season.
Three others finished in double digits with Addy Bond hitting for 14, Izzy Bond adding 13, and Kira Bonanno 10.
Harmon said that was the key; she didn’t want to force it.
“My teammates, I give it to them. They were great,” Harmon said. “They were looking to give me the ball. They were hyping me up, but they were also telling me to relax. I didn’t want to be selfish and we definitely shared the ball.”
Harmon got to 1,000 so rapidly thanks to a stellar freshman season in which she averaged 12.6 points per game.
She only got better last season, putting up 21 points per night and earned the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference girls basketball MVP.
Reaching 1,000 so fast has even caught Harmon by surprise.
“I’m very thankful for my teammates, obviously, because they’re a big part of it,” Harmon said, “but, yeah, when I look back at my accomplishments, it’s like, ‘Wow, that really did happen.’”
Harmon will now shift her focus to her other lofty goals, like getting Redbank Valley a third straight District 9 championship and farther in the PIAA playoffs.
She also wants to score 2,000 points in her career — certainly within reach given her pace and productivity.
If she does reach that 2,000-point milestone, she will become the all-time leading scorer at the school.
That distinction now belongs to Brooke Hinderliter, who scored 1,997 points for the Bulldogs.
“Obviously, team goals come first,” she said. “I’m not going to focus on points. But 2,000 will always be in the back of my mind.”
Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.
