Girls basketball: Greenon’s West surpasses 1,000 career points

ENON — Abby West had no idea she was nearing 1,000 career points. The Greenon High School senior was too busy helping her team win.

West scored 17 points in the Knights’ 57-23 victory over Catholic Central on Jan. 28 to surpass 1,000 career points. She currently sits at 1,031 career points for the Knights (18-4) entering their Division II first round game against Eaton at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Tecumseh High School.

“I never really knew (I was close),” West said. “It’s kind of unbelievable. … I never really had it as a goal. I’m just trying to win.”

She becomes the fourth player in the last 15 years at Greenon to accomplish the feat, joining Allie Turner (2010), former teammate Reagan Ware (2020) and fellow senior Claire Henry.

West, a 5-foot-11 forward, “does everything the right way,” said Knights coach Nick Minnich.

“She pushes the ball up the court. She rebounds really well. Something she’s been doing a lot better lately is getting the ball out to a guard early and getting out into the lane to get layups or trailing for 3s. She can do everything for us on the court — she can shoot, handle the ball a little bit when we need her to against other post players and creates a mismatch.”

West is averaging 14.3 points per game, down from 15.8 last season, but has improved in every other category. She’s leading the Ohio Heritage Conference with 3.0 blocks per game and ranks second in rebounding at 10.0 per game. She’s also improved her free throw percentage (72.4 percent).

“I can play everywhere, but I try to be a team player and get everyone to play to their strengths,” West said.

She’s also shooting 26 percent from the 3-point line this season, often forcing opponents to use smaller players to guard her on the perimeter, Minninch said.

“People have to guard her outside,” Minnich said. “If she steps outside, she can knock down the 3 and it forces people to (guard her). We see a lot of zone for that reason and it helps us because we have a lot of good shooters. It’s huge for our team because we’re all about floor spacing. We can play five out and she fits that mold perfectly for us.”

West and Henry have been a dynamic duo during their careers, helping Greenon win two Ohio Heritage Conference South Division titles and a D-III district runner-up finish last season. They’ve won 66 games and counting over the last four years and 40 in the last

“We have that spark together,” West said. “We’ve been playing with each other since I can remember. We have that (connection) going.”

West praised the Knights underclassmen for their role in their team’s success this season. Greenon has nine players on its roster, including senior newcomer Alexis Locker.

“The underclassmen have definitely stepped up and done their part,” West said. “I’m very proud of them for that.”

West and Henry will also finish their careers among Greenon’s leaders in several categories. West is the first player in school history to surpass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks, while Henry is the first with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists, Minnich siad.

“It’s pretty special,” he said. “It says a lot for those kids about how they play basketball.”

They know when to shoot, when not to shoot, when to pass the basketball, when to attack and when to pull it. I’m proud of them because the way they do it is the right way to play basketball. They don’t force bad shots very often. They think about the team.”

About the Author