“I never thought it was gonna be me,” Russell said. “I always looked up to them and they did really good things. I never really thought that was gonna be me and it feels like time has gone by so fast.”
Earlier this month, the three-time Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division first team selection, scored her 1,000th career point for the Arrows.
“I didn’t really know it was coming,” Gabrielle Russell said. “My mom waited to tell my teammates because she knew they would give it away. They were definitely being a little suspicious that day when they found out.”
She joins a club that includes several players her mother coached during an eight-year run as an assistant with the program — including Bianca Quisenberry, Corinne Thomas, Presley Griffitts, Lindsey Nartker and Danielle Franklin — before taking over as head coach in 2019.
“She’s worked hard for it, so I’m happy to see her get there,” Chasity Russell said.
This season, the senior ranks among the CBC leaders in scoring (18.5 points per game), rebounding (10.2 pg), blocks (1.9 pg), steals (3.7 pg) and assists (3.7 pg).
The key has been sharing the basketball with her teammates, Chasity Russell said.
“That’s a big one for us, getting her teammates the ball for us to play a complete team game,” Chastity Russell said.
Fellow senior Emma Garber is averaging 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4.8 assists for the Arrows, while freshman Sammy Russell (8.9 points) and senior Madilynn Moore (7.2 points) are also stepping up this season.
“I know I can’t do it all myself,” Gabrielle Russell said. “All of my teammates have really stepped into their roles and had a big impact as well.”
The 9-4 Arrows are seeking their seventh Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division title since 2013 and first since 2021. They finished two games back of defending champion Jonathan Alder a year ago.
“We want it really bad this year,” Gabrielle Russell. “That’s our big drive this year, winning that CBC title.”
The Arrows must improve defensively if they hope to keep winning, Chasity Russell said.
“We have the ability to score a lot of points, but sometimes we let our opponents score too much, more than they should,” she said.
Tecumseh has ramped up its schedule this season in hopes of making a deep tournament run this winter. The Arrows dropped to Division II this season. They travel to Ohio Heritage Conference South Division leader Greenon (10-1) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in a battle of Clark County powerhouses. Greenon also is Division II this season.
“I’m excited for these four seniors to see if we can make some noise come tournament time,” Chasity Russell said.
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