MORAN — Marmaton Valley High’s Janae Granere, who by now has written her own chapter in the annals of Wildcat athletics, notched another career milestone Tuesday.
Granere’s bucket with just under 3 minutes to go gave her 31 points for the night and 1,000 for her high school career, as Marmaton Valley cruised past visiting Pleasanton, 47-19.
Her coaches and teammates were ready for the occasion, briefly stopping the game to present Granere with a banner in her honor.
Funny part was, Granere didn’t know just how many points she needed to reach the milestone.
Wildcat head coach Becky Carlson had intentionally kept the number secret, to avoid undue pressure.
“I knew I was close,” Granere said. “I heard three different numbers (I needed) so I had an estimate. My teammates knew I was close.”
The clinching bucket came on a feed from teammate Maria Forero, perhaps fitting because of what Forero — a foreign exchange student from Spain — means to the team this year.
“She plays just like me,” Granere explained. “We’re both very aggressive, with the same mentality. It’s been so much fun.”
Forero’s addition has been invaluable, Carlson added, because of her ball-handling abilities. Her ability to bring the ball up the court has alleviated the responsibility that often previously went to Granere.
Payton Scharff added eight points as Marmaton Valley controlled matters from the outset.
The Wildcats led 7-0 after one quarter and 23-3 at the break.
With the game’s outcome decided, Granere’s teammates made it a focal point through the third quarter to get her the ball, and she converted, whether beneath the basket, out on the perimeter, or anywhere in between.
“Janae did a great job,” Carlson said.
Carlson was equally as impressed with Marmaton Valley’s defense, which has led to back-to-back games of holding rival schools under 20 points.
Leah Myrick scored 10 of Pleasanton’s 19.
One side note: Carlson’s hall of fame coaching career, which features three state championships — including one at Iola in 2006 — had never included coaching a 1,000-point scorer.
Until now.
Granere entered high school nearly four years ago thinking 1,000 points was a possibility.
“I was hoping I could get there, but I knew that was a big number,” she said.
