Kendall Currence reflects on Jaeden Greenleaf as Cape basketball's leading scorer
In an era when the game was played six-on-six and only three players could go beyond midcourt, girls’ basketball in the 1960s was a much different game than the fast break, perimeter-shooting style of play today.
Nauset’s Pat Packett became the first Cape Cod girls’ basketball player to reach the 1,000-point plateau, finishing her career in 1966 with 1,169 points.
Her high-point mark stood on Cape Cod for 13 years before Bourne’s Lisa LaFlamme surpassed it with 1,397 points in 1979. Another full decade would pass until Kathy Whitlock of Dennis-Yarmouth reached the career point total of 1,585 in 1990.
After that, a pair of Falmouth Academy stars obliterated the record. First came Sarah Beninghof, who scored 1,812 in 1998 before Kendall Currence took her place atop the pile with 2,310 in 2018, which will be the total for girls basketball players to shoot for in the future.
However, Currence’s name was back in the news when Cape Cod Academy boys basketball player Jaeden Greenleaf surpassed Currence's career total by one point to become the Cape’s all-time leading scorer of either gender on the basketball court.
More: Greenleaf sets all-time Cape Cod high school hoops scoring record
Greenleaf scored 28 points March 4 against Carver, earning him 2,311 career points, surpassing Currence's 2,310.
“That’s good for him. He’s been playing varsity since eighth grade and I did it in four (years),” said Currence, who is now a senior at Northeastern University. “But it’s still pretty impressive reaching 2,000 points.”
Ironically, just two weeks before Greenleaf supplanted her at the top of the Cape Cod list, Currence became the 23rd player in Northeastern University history to reach 1,000 points there.
Currence played her high school basketball at Falmouth Academy under coach Gus Adams, who is still active coaching the girls’ team at St. John Paul II in Hyannis.
“I still get together with coach Adams and we had breakfast together recently,” she said. “He reminded me that I used to pass to other teammates who didn’t shoot a lot of the time. I guess I always wanted my other teammates to score, as well.”
She reached the 1,000-point mark during her sophomore year at Falmouth Academy, and was soon well on her way to the coveted 2,000-point plateau.
“I knew I could probably get to 2,000, so I just kept trying to push as hard as I could,” she said, recalling that during her sophomore year, she was averaging better than 20 points per game, and by junior and senior years, she was up around 30 points per game.
“I always knew I wanted to make something of myself and have people know my name,” she said.
More: Harwich's Glenn Rose reflects on Jaeden Greenleaf beating the Cape's high-scoring record
During the summer, she and Greenleaf have worked out together at Sims Basketball Academy in Sandwich.
“He’s become a very good player and a great scorer,” Currence said.
David Robinson, who has worked as an instructor with both athletes at Sims, noted they are both excellent basketball students.
“I can’t take a whole lot of credit for Kendall, because she did most of her scoring even before I got her over here,” he said.
Regarding Greenleaf, he noted, “He really impressed me with the way he wants to work. He wants to be in the gym all the time, does whatever you tell him to do and never complains.”
Currence has been among the scoring leaders for Northeastern throughout her career there, despite suffering an injury toward the end of the present season.
“On Senior Day against Towson State, my knee buckled and I stretched my PCL (posterior cruciate ligament),” she said. “I pushed to get back for our Colonial Athletic Tournament and played, but unfortunately we lost.”
She wound up staying behind and not playing in the Women’s Basketball Invitational the following week, instead working to rehab her knee.
“There was no sense of pushing it, because I still have one more year of eligibility (at Northeastern),” she said, noting that despite being a senior, she has another year due to Covid-related extensions.
Currence also noted she has had some agents reach out for other opportunities, with perhaps a shot at one day playing in the Women’s National Basketball Association.
“I’m keeping it on the down-low for now,” she said.
She plans on returning to the Cape this summer and just may meet up with Greenleaf at the Sims Academy.
Did that mean maybe a one-on-one challenge for Cape Cod basketball supremacy?
“You never know,” she said. “Maybe we’ll meet up in the future at Sims.”
Mike Richard can be contacted by email at mikerichard0725@gmail.com.
Top Scorers – All Time – Cape and Islands Girls Basketball
Points; Player; High school year
2310 Kendall Currence Falmouth Academy 2018
1812 Sarah Beninghof Falmouth Academy 1998
1761 Jen Gonsalves Harwich 2011
1600 Jess Halford Nantucket 2012
1585 Kathy Whitlock Dennis-Yarmouth 1990
1583 Amber Dibonna Upper Cape Tech 2017
1545 Ellery Gould Sandwich 2010
1540 Morgan Kendrew Barnstable 2008
1521 LaTania McIntyre Barnstable 1995
1402 Angela Paterson Nantucket 2009
1400 Taylor Masaschi Chatham 2009
1364 Heather Chase Bourne 1997
1354 Amy Lyon Barnstable 2003
1350 Jill Lyon Barnstable 2008
1347 Lisa LaFlamme Bourne 1979
1338 Kari Harvey Nantucket 2003
1336 Katie Palmer Falmouth Academy 2005
1256 Kara Trent Sandwich 1997
1254 Vanessa Pisano Martha’s Vineyard 2001
1236 Christine Frauton Barnstable 1996
1231 Savannah Chase Monomoy 2013
1229 Cheryl Meads Provincetown 1997
1227 Eliza VanVoorhis Falmouth Academy 2017
1221 Molly DeBettencourt Martha’s Vineyard 2018
1212 Shannon Soares Harwich 1996
1208 Skyeler Sandison Nauset 2020
1197 Amiyah Peters * Mashpee 2022
1186 Meaghan Harden Sandwich 2012
1181 Taylor Miller Falmouth 2016
1169 Pat Packett Nauset 1966
1169 Taryn VanEsselstyn Chatham 2008
1163 Meghan Devine Sandwich 1995
1162 Amanda Gonsalves Harwich 2006
1149 Adriene Harvey Nantucket 1999
1117 Kate Devine Sandwich 1997
1102 Saralyn Smith Falmouth 1996
1101 Angela Roelke Upper Cape Tech 2009
1097 Ashley Keleher Mashpee 2020
1093 Stephanie Tobey Dennis-Yarmouth 1998
1093 Carly Whiteside Barnstable 2019
1091 Angelina “Cookie” Raeno Harwich 1968
1084 Kim Lemieux Sandwich 1982
1083 Kim Craft Falmouth 2001
1077 Kara Shemeth Martha’s Vineyard 1998
1066 MacKenzie Balfore Cape Cod Academy 2022
1056 Julie Smith Nauset 1998
1054 Debbie McCullough Bourne 1970
1052 Jen DiCecco Falmouth 2017
1049 Jamie Colley Falmouth Academy 1995
1049 Erin Hill Martha’s Vineyard 2016
1046 Debbie Oakley Bourne 1970
1035 Meaghan Fitzgerald Sturgis East 2015
1033 Caitlyn Sundby Nauset 2004
1022 Shauntee Turner Cape Cod Academy 2003
1020 Chrisna Samms Cape Cod Academy 2003
1007 Kelly Thatcher Harwich 2000
1004 Heather Reis Provincetown 2004
1001 Leigh Stokey Falmouth Academy 2002
1001 Molly Bent Barnstable 2015
* - still active
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Kendall Currence Cape basketball record beat by Jaeden Greenleaf
