Cards’ Halfhill passes 1,000

She reached the milestone on an assist from her sister in a win over East Liverpool.

By TOM WILLIAMS

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

CANFIELD — Believe it or not, there was a moment in the Canfield’s 68-35 victory over East Liverpool that produced gasps and ahs from the spectators.

Needing three points to reach 1,000 for her varsity career, senior guard Bryanne Halfhill shot from behind the 3-point line about 2 minutes, 45 seconds before halftime. But as the ball sailed into the net, the Cardinals were whistled for a three-second violation.

The culprit?

“My sister,” said Halfhill, referring to sophomore point guard Jillian Halfhill.

Less than a minute later, the Cardinals were celebrating their second 1,000-point milestone of the season. After Bryanne made a layup for points 998 and 999, her sister stole the ball near midcourt.

Jillian wasted no time getting the ball to Bryanne for an easy layup.

“To assist your sister on her 1,000th point is pretty cool,” Canfield coach Pat Pavlansky said, “and Bryanne has had a lot of assists from her sister the past two years.”

Bryanne Halfhill said, “It was pretty cool how she got the assist. She was smiling all the way down the court. About a million things ran through my head because I was so nervous. Everyone was so cool about it. This is a really great team.”

Presented the game ball, Halfhill found her grandmother, Carmel Bucci, in the stands and gave her a kiss and the ball.

Then she returned to the court to help the Cardinals (11-1, 7-0 Metro Athletic Conference) secure the win to remain a game ahead of Howland in the league standings.

Earlier this season, senior post player Kate Popovec topped 1,000. The last time Canfield had two players on the court with more than 1,000 points was in 1991 when Jenny Kulics (Canfield’s record holder) and Kim Huber (second all-time) played on Bill Wolf’s state runner-up team.

Pavlansky has coached one other player who scored 1,000 — Erin Martin, the 2002 graduate who was a key player on Canfield’s other state runner-up team (2001).

Halfhill, who entered the game with 981 points, told her teammates that she didn’t want to know how many she needed “because I didn’t want to be nervous.”

Early on, the Halfhill celebration appeared it might come later in the evening. With Popovec scoring eight points, the Cards jumped out to a 12-0 lead before Halfhill made her first shot, a baseline 3-pointer.

She had 10 points by the end of the first quarter and matched that total in the second. She had 24 points and Popovec 16 when Pavlansky removed his starters midway through the third quarter.

“The first time I saw Bryanne on the court, her athleticism alone [made me go] ‘Wow, this girl is going to be special,’ ” Pavlansky said. “She had the shooting stroke from the start. And it’s been even more special since her little sister came up to play with her.”

Halfhill, Popovec and Melissa West are four-year starters for the Cardinals, and have known nothing but MAC championships.

“Bryanne and Melissa are both just competitive people and amazing athletes,” Popovec said. “Bryanne is such a finesse player, so smooth, while Melissa does all the dirty work.”

Halfhill, who has a 3.9 grade-point average, has been a first-team All-MAC selection three times.

Halfhill’s parents were high school athletes. Her mother, Rene, ran track while her father, Brian, was a quarterback at Ursuline.

Asked which parent she credits for her athletic gifts (she’s also a softball standout), Halfhill said, “My dad. He’s in [Ursuline’s] Hall of Fame.”

Halfhill enjoys softball (“It’s more of a fun sport”), but basketball is her favorite.

“It’s more serious,” Halfhill said. “We have big expectations for this year.”

williams@vindy.com