Five years of hard work paid off for Williamsville South senior Zaria McCullough on Tuesday night.
McCullough became the third player in Billies’ girls basketball history to reach 1,000 career points in a 64-29 win over Williamsville East.
“It’s a great milestone,” McCullough said. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and my family; it’s all thanks to them and their support. I wasn’t really thinking about it; coach told me a couple days ago. It’s pretty exciting.”
McCullough reached the mark by hitting a pair of free throws with 51.2 points left in the third quarter – the final point in an 18-0 run that started the second half. The game was stopped briefly and McCullough was presented with a ball and flowers.
“We’re so excited and extremely proud of her reaching this milestone,” Williamsville South coach Kristen Dolan. “She’s meant the world to all of us – her coaches, her teammates – she’s meant so much to our program here at Williamsville South. She’s a big reason why we’ve been successful.”
In fact, it was a grand night all the way around for Dolan and Billies basketball. Across town, junior Greg Dolan also reached 1,000 points as Williamsville South rolled to a 73-42 win over the Flames.
“That was really, really neat the way it happened,” said Kristen Dolan, Greg’s mother, “and I guess Greg got his on a couple of free throws late in the third, too. Both programs are very close, we really support one another.”
Both teams also have championship aspirations – and the talent to get there. McCullough was a part of Williamsville South’s 2014-15 state championship and that’s the ultimate goal again this season.
“I’m happy with the season so far,” McCullough said. “I’m just hoping we can make it to the end of March and then go from there.”
On Tuesday, McCullough led Williamsville South (8-3, 6-0 ECIC II) with 19 points. Naomi DeBerry added 14 points while Lauren Lassiter and Amari DeBerry tossed in 10 apiece for South. Rachel Romanowski led Williamsville East (3-7, 2-5 ECIC II) with 14 points.
The underdog Flames came to play against their crosstown rival and stayed within single-digits for much of the first half before the Billies took charge in the third quarter.
“Williamsville East came out and had a lot of energy,” Dolan said. “They made us for everything. We had to regroup at halftime and had to come out with a little more intensity.”
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