MADISON TOWNSHIP — The night belonged to Deijah Swihart, but Clear Fork’s unassuming star was happy to share it with her teammates.
Swihart became just the fourth player in program history to score 1,000 career points in a 57-35 win over Madison. Her layup with 1:40 remaining in the third quarter gave her 1,001 points and momentarily brought the game to a standstill as the achievement was acknowledged by fans of both teams.
“I really didn’t know what to do when I scored. It was awkward, so I just stood there,” said Swihart, who finished with 20 points as the Colts improved to 12-3 overall and 7-2 in the Ohio Cardinal Conference. “I didn’t expect them to stop the whole game.”
The Colts held an impromptu celebration in the visitor’s locker room after the game.
“They brought in confetti guns and shot them off and we danced to our team song,” Swihart said. “It’s a song by Beyonce’. You can never go wrong with Beyonce’.
“I’m glad my team could celebrate it with me.”
Swihart joined Jill Snavely, Amy Featheringham and Jesse Fackler in Clear Fork’s 1,000-point club.
“It’s a big deal because not a lot of athletes who have come through Clear Fork have scored 1,000 points,” Clear Fork coach Heidi Roush said. “It is a big milestone for her and for our program. It also says a lot about that senior class.”
Swihart was quick to recognize her fellow seniors: Audra Delaney, Morgan Bailey, Madilyn McDonald, Erika Farst and Mattie Van Orman.
“We’ve been playing together since fourth grade,” Swihart said. “We can just read each other out on the floor.”
Fast Start: Swihart scored eight first-quarter points as the Colts raced out to a 15-4 lead. The Rams (4-12, 2-7) trimmed the deficit to 22-16 at the half despite going 0-for-12 from the free throw line in the first two quarters.
Clear Fork put the game away in the third, outscoring Madison 20-9 for a 42-25 lead after three. Swihart’s history-making layup capped the outburst.
Bailey backed Swihart with 16 points. Farst added nine.
Mekaila Grose led Madison with 16 points. Alexis Smith and Regina Zehner each had six.
Comparing milestones: Swihart, who will play college soccer at Ashland University, was an All-America soccer selection in the fall.
So which achievement means more?
“They both are awesome,” Swihart said. “Being an All-American is a great honor. A lot of great athletes have come through Clear Fork and to be just the fourth to score 1,000 points is a great honor, too.”
Her athletic achievements don’t paint a complete portrait, Roush said.
“She’s a really humble kid,” Roush said. “She’s done a lot of great things athletically in her young life, but she is an even better person than she is an athlete.
“This is just one more thing that she has accomplished and she’ll set her sites on her next goal.”
Junior Varsity: In junior varsity action, Clear Fork’s Hannah McCartney scored 10 points in the Colts’ 48-39 win. Brianna Howard led Madison with 10 points.
