Ava Morrow reaches 1,000 points and helps Twin Valley advance in Berks girls basketball playoffs

Feb. 24—Ava Morrow insists she wasn't counting down like many of the people watching. She had too much else on her mind.

Entering the fourth quarter, Twin Valley's senior still needed seven points. Then she hit a 3-pointer. Then another. Suddenly, the magic number was one.

What happened next probably felt like a blur. Morrow made a layup and saw a flock of white jerseys flying toward her.

The moment was here. One thousand points.

"The next thing I know I was on the ground," Morrow said. "It was kind of funny. I was looking at everyone. Are we going to get up or are we going to stay here forever? It was really nice."

Third-seeded Twin Valley defeated Fleetwood 53-30 in the BCIAA girls basketball quarterfinals at home Tuesday night. The Raiders will face No. 2 Berks Catholic at Wolf Gymnasium in the semis tonight at 7:30.

Those were the stakes that concerned Morrow before the opening tip. Once victory was assured, she could turn her attention to a personal achievement.

Morgan Lennon hugged Morrow first. She doesn't know how everyone ended up on the floor. It was a combination of excitement and gravity.

Twin Valley coach Mark Morrow, Ava's dad, quickly called timeout. Not that it mattered. Emotion had already stopped the clock.

Mark Morrow had to compartmentalize these past few games. His daughter was chasing history while his team chased a trophy.

"As a dad, it was very special," he said. "You want to be a fan but you can't. For about 30 seconds there, I got to be a fan."

Ava Morrow didn't know there was a poster to commemorate the achievement. That's probably for the best. Reaching that four-digit number is hard enough without the burden of expectations.

Soon after the layup, a shot she has made a thousand times in this gym, there were photos. There was a brief moment to savor it before the final 1:44 was played.

Morrow scored 16 points and raised her total to 1,003. She's the fifth Twin Valley player to reach the milestone.

The 5-11 guard has contributed to a lot of success during her four years on the varsity. The points came along for the ride.

"I knew I was close," Morrow said. "I was just trying to help the team first. When it comes, it comes. I didn't want to force anything."

Morrow received an ovation from the fans who waited for her to emerge from the locker room. Then she took a picture with Natali Foster. It was supposed to resemble a photo they took when they were little but Morrow couldn't stop laughing and hold the pose.

There's so much personal history on this Twin Valley team. None more than between Morrow and her dad/coach. They planned to relive No. 1,000 later that night.

"She'll be able to finally talk about it," Mark Morrow said. "She's the same way I am. She's superstitious. Now she can just enjoy it."

It happened the best way it could. Twin Valley was home and won a playoff game.

For Morrow, it felt right.

"I'll remember this more than I'll remember the scores of different games," she said. "It's a memory that will last a lifetime."