History was made on Friday night at Portage High School as senior Nicki Monahan became the school’s all-time leading scorer in the storied history of girls basketball at PHS. With 5:20 remaining in the second quarter, Monahan scored her first point of the night by draining the second of two free throws to etch her name atop the all-time leaderboard.
“It was definitely exciting, I got to the free throw line, had to take a deep breath, missed the first one, but on the second one I was actually calm,” Monahan said. “I made that one and got the job done.”
Monahan overtook 1989 graduate Stacy Sheriff, who set the previous mark 25 years ago when she scored 1,075 career points. Monahan said she realized that the all-time record was obtainable at the beginning of this season, but her coach was one step ahead of her. During the ceremony to honor the new Portage scoring queen after she tallied her 1,076th career point, Athletic Director Kelly Bermes said head coach Chris Seibert told her three years ago that Monahan was a special player who had the chance to become the school’s all-time leading scorer.
Monahan will take her career to the collegiate level next season. She is currently talking with Indiana University Northwest, Anderson University, Saint Xavier University, Manchester University and Hanover College.
Monahan picked the perfect night to surpass Sheriff. Not only did she do it at home, but it was Senior Night, the final regular season home game. The students, who turned out in droves to support Monahan and the Indians, used the Twitter hashtag #NickiWatch to offer their encouragement before and after she broke the record.
Alyssa Tampier, Hannah Glos, Heather Zengler, Monahan and team manager Tina Stilp were honored during the senior night presentation prior to the contest.
Glos’s most memorable moment was shooting the ball in the wrong basket in her first varsity game, a shot that has been often joked about over the last four years. Seibert presented Glos with a compass during a team holiday party that season. She plans to attend Indiana University next year.
“We are very proud of Hannah, the self-discipline she has when it comes to her schoolwork, sports and goals,” Glos’s parents said in the Senior Night program. “We are proud of the wonderful and considerate young lady she has become.”
Tampier plans to attend Purdue North Central to major in secondary education next season. She said she started to feel the emotions of Senior Night during the pregame presentation.
“It all hit me at once when I was walking out there and I saw Alexis [Johnson] saying my speech and I just started crying and hugging the coaches,” Tampier said. “They were saying inspirational words and how proud they are of me.”
Zengler’s college plans involve playing softball and studying exercise science before perusing a doctorate in physical therapy.
“I was a little emotional,” she said. “I mean I was super excited about everything, but it’s bittersweet. I’m going to miss all of these girls when it’s all said and done.”
Portage lost a low scoring game 37-22 to the visiting La Porte Slicers. The Indians round out the regular season next week with trips to Munster and Lake Central before starting postseason play on their home floor.
Monahan, Zengler, Tampier and Glos have been playing together since the age of five. They plan to savor every moment down the final stretch of their final season together.
“I love these girls,” Monahan said. “We’ve grown up together since we were little. I’m going to miss them when we all go our separate ways in college, but hopefully we stay in touch. It’s a great group of girls. I don’t know what I’m going to do without them.”