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Tri-Village
senior Shaye Thomas recently scored her 1,000th point as a
Patriot against BrookVille last Saturday.
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Milestone reached in final home game
Thomas hits
1,000 point mark at Tri-Village
By George Starks
NEW MADISON- Going into her senior season in basketball at Tri-Village,
Lady Patriot Shaye Thomas was getting close to achieving milestone
numbers in scoring.
The coveted 1,000 point mark. Thomas got that point last Saturday at
home against Brookville.
With approximately 40 seconds left in the game, Thomas squared up in
the corner and unloaded a 21 foot shot that found the bottom of the net.
Patriot fans started yelling in appreciation and Thomas knew.
“I knew what was going on,” said Thomas. “When the game started, I knew
I could hit a thousand points and normally, I don’t keep track of these
things but in this case, I knew I needed one or two points when I hit
the three so I just took a three to get it.”
There have been many outstanding girls play at Tri-Village. Names like
Jamie Ballard, Cindy Neenon, Emily Fisherback, Kara Schelchty and
2012 graduate Kayla Linkous.
Thomas now joins that coveted list of HOF players and soon to be HOF
players to hit the 1,000 point pinnacle.
Schelchty, a 2003 graduate, was the most recent of the group listed to
enter the Tri-Village Hall of Fame. That night, the Patriots pummeled
National Trail, 76-29.
While Thomas owns the points, she doesn’t take all the credit.
“My team is what makes me excel and strive to be my best. We play team
ball and when you share the ball, it makes it easy to score,” Thomas.
“When I put this uniform on, I represent not only my team but the
school and the community. I’m proud to have worn this uniform for four
years and when we had our senior night, I never really knew how I felt
until I stood there knowing it was all coming to a end. It was a bitter
sweet moment in my life.”
Over the course of her life, Thomas’ dad, Tony, now the T-V
Superintendent, was once the head coach for the Patriots (93-97).
With that in mind, the young senior has had plenty of influence.
“My dad always encouraged me and he told me to always find a way to
win,” said Thomas. “He told me to play hard all the time so that’s what
I do. When I’m not making shots and playing well, I always play hard.”
Upon graduation, Thomas said she wanted to be remembered as a team
player on the floor and someone people could come up to a talk with.
As of this writing, the Patriots are 19-1 with two games left to play
before sectionals begin.
For the Lady Patriots and Thomas, there was unfinished business to take
care off at the start of the season.
A year ago, Tri-Village fell one game short of the state finals on
Columbus.
Thomas will attend IU East in the fall. With a 4.0 g.p.a., she will
receive a full ride scholarship.
“Our goal right now is to go back to state and bring it all home,” said
Thomas. “As a team, we have to take it one game at a time and we can’t
look past anyone.”
That game starts with the Jefferson Lady Broncos at Brookville.
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