“I like to just do a little bit of everything,” she said. “I feel like as a team, you need to play selfless and you need to play for one another. Especially since like we all do that for each other and that’s how we’re winning our games.”
She ended up with seven rebounds, six assists, five steals and four blocks against McNicholas. And when she did begin scoring points, she accumulated 15 to lead her team in the win.
Healy has amassed many points during her four-year career as she became the all-time leading scorer in Carroll basketball history. She broke a record held by Katie (Streck) Clinger for more than 20 years.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
She eclipsed the career total during a win against Fenwick on Wednesday. She entered the game needing 13 points to surpass the mark of 1,413 career points and ended up scoring a career-high 32 in the game.
“I never really expected that this would happen to me but I don’t know it’s definitely like it really is just surreal to think about because I never thought of myself like being in this position,” Healy said. “But I am, I’m with my friends celebrating it and with my coaches and they’re all like very supportive of me so it’s very nice.”
Healy was honored before Saturday’s game as Clinger ceremonially helped pass the torch to the new scoring queen.
Clinger said with the amount of talent that has played at Carroll since she graduated in 2004, naming the likes of Kelley Austria, Brogan Berry and others, she has found it hard to believe no one has bested her total until now. But she received word of the possibility that it was coming years ago and when she learned that Healy was close, Clinger was ready to pass the torch.
“It was when Kiera was a freshman, we were at a game at Beavercreek and coach [Mike Austria] came up and he’s like, ‘we have a freshman that’s gonna break the record.’ And I said that’s great. I said, ’20 some years is long enough, right?’”
Healy has been the leading scorer for Carroll all four years of her career. She is averaging just over 17 points per game this season which would be a career high.
Each season she has improved her shooting percentages from the floor, at the three-point arc and the free throw line. This year she leads the Greater Catholic League Co-Ed in free throw percentage (86.5 percent), ranks second in field goal percentage (47.2) and third for three-pointers (34.6).
She began the season making five of her first 32 attempts from three, but since then is shooting 48 percent from beyond the arc in Carroll’s last 10 games.
As much as she is growing her ability to become a more consistent scorer, head coach Cecilia Grosselin said it’s been fun to watch her overall development as she moves away from being the “sweet little shy ninth grader” she initially met.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
“This amazing recognition for being the all-time leading scorer in Carroll’s history is awesome, but most importantly, I think that I’m proud of the quality individual that she’s become,” Grosselin said. “She’s kind, she’s considerate, she’s caring and helpful and to me, that says so much about her as a person.”
Clinger said she expects to see her record shattered by the time this season ends.
“She still has a couple games and I said just enjoy these last couple games with Carroll and treasure this time, because once you get into adulthood and you look back on this, you know, it’s some of the best times of your life,” she said. “And then once she goes on to her next chapter playing in college, enjoy that as well, because that is a fun time as well. I just wish her the best, wish this team the best because I hear they have a solid chance of making a deep run.”
Healy is also excited for the potential of Carroll making it far into the postseason, but not because her point total will keep rising. She said that is occurring because her teammates put her in the positions necessary to get the opportunity to put points on the board.
Doing so will continue to help her team be in position to win and assuredly her teammates won’t mind to see high how she can set the new record.
“It really is special and I am very grateful for that because over the years I’ve had so many other teammates and players that have put me in this position assisting me and just being great teammates,” Healy said. “I really am thankful for them and the coaches because they put me in this position for me to break that record.”
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