By Skip Weaver
Contributing writer
Three into 1,000 goes a long way for the Edwards family.
On Saturday afternoon, Vada Edwards joined her cousins Bill Jr. and Vince as members of the 1,000-point club in Middletown High School basketball history.
“It feels awesome,” the MHS senior said Saturday after leading her team to a 51-44 win over Hamilton on Senior Day in the Paul Walker Gymnasium. Vada Edwards entered the game needing 15 points to reach the mark. She led all scorers in the game with 22 points and now ranks second on the all-time girls scoring list with 1,007 points. Pam Freeman sits atop the list with 1,105 points.
“Getting to 1,000 points and us winning the game just made it the perfect day,” Edwards said. “I really didn’t worry about it though. I had to focus on us winning and if it happens it happens.”
Edwards became only the second female in MHS history to reach 1,000 points in a career, and she achieved it in just three seasons having missed her sophomore season because of an ACL injury.
“It was very frustrating to just sit and watch the games my sophomore year,” she said. “Sophomore year is supposed to be when you really start to step up, so I kind of feel like last year was my sophomore year.”
The milestone shot came with 3:53 left in the third quarter. It was a 3-pointer that helped push the Middies to a five-point lead. The game was stopped for a brief moment to honor Edwards and take the ball out of the game.
“She told me she wanted to keep playing with that ball,” MHS coach Scott Dalton said of his brief conversation with Edwards at midcourt. “She is a delightful young lady with a good head on her shoulders. We’ve never spoken at all about her reaching 1,000 points, but I’m very pleased to see her achieve it.”
Edwards’ cousin Vince, a junior on the boys’ team, reached 1,000 points in his career on Friday night despite his teams’ loss on the road at Lakota East. “I was nervous and I know she was too,” Vince Edwards said. “I just tried to tell her to relax and play.
“Middletown has one of the best traditions in the state,” he continued. “To be with my brother and cousin and all the great Middies of the past on that list is truly a special feeling.”
“I was excited and also scared,” said Shalonda Edwards, Vada’s mother. “She has worked really hard and I’m very proud of her.”
Vince Edwards has 1,004 points in his career with at least two more games remaining this year. With a strong senior campaign next season, he could climb significantly on the Middies all-time scoring list. Archie Aldridge ranks second on the all-time list with 1,514 points, and might be reachable for Edwards.
“Somebody brought that up to me and it would certainly be a great honor,” Edwards said. “But even to just get to 1,000 points is a great honor for me, so now I can just go out and play from here on out.
“I’m just so happy for Vada right now,” he continued. “I hope her season ends the way she wants it to.”
