(Jan. 9, 2015) Stephen Decatur junior Dayona Godwin was just 13 points shy of 1,000 going into Tuesday night’s game against the Washington Jaguars in Berlin.
Godwin admitted that throughout the school day she was nervous, but excited for that evening’s competition.
“Everyone just kept telling me to ‘play my game and it will come sooner or later,’” she said.
As she made two free throws 16 seconds into the game, some people in the stands yelled “11.”
When she scored her first basket, Godwin said her nerves started to fade.
She hit two more foul shots to give the Lady Seahawks a 6-2 lead as spectators chanted “nine.” Godwin followed it with a lay-up. Seven points remained.
Then, the 16-year-old intercepted a Washington pass and scored. Five points to go.
She put the ball in the basket at the 5:41 mark and again 11 seconds later. One point left as those watching rose to their feet and took out their cameras and cell phones in anticipation of her 1,000th point.
With 4:49 on the clock, Godwin pulled down a rebound and put the ball back up. It went in and the buzzer sounded to stop play.
“It felt so good. I felt so blessed that God had given me the opportunity to score that bucket,” she said. “That was one of my accomplishments that I wanted to achieve…I knew sooner or later that it would happen.”
Godwin’s teammates surrounded her to congratulate and shower her with hugs and high-fives. She was also joined on the court by her parents, Natasha Brittingham and Derek Godwin, Coach Amy Fenzel-Mergott, Principal Tom Zimmer and Athletic Director Don Howard and was presented with a basketball to commemorate her achievement.
“It just showed me how supportive everyone was of me and how they really believed in me that I could do it,” Godwin said.
“There were so many things that were so nice about it. Dayona was very humble about it the whole time and it was nice because the other kids on the team were very excited for her and very pumped up,” Fenzel-Mergott said. “They all wanted to go out on the floor and congratulate her. They all wanted to be a part of it and that was really nice to see.”
Fenzel-Mergott said less than a dozen female basketball players have logged 1,000 career points while playing for Decatur.
Going into the 2014-15 season, Godwin had racked up 891 points over two years. She led the Seahawks in scoring last year with 589 points. She was named Bayside South Player of the Year and earned All-Conference First Team honors. Her freshman year she logged 302 points.
The Seahawks led the Jaguars 37-2 at the end of the first quarter Tuesday night. Godwin scored 14 of her team’s 37 points. By the halftime break, the home team had built a 55-4 advantage.
Decatur won the game, 77-6. Godwin finished with 22 points, six steals and three assists.
Senior captain Marina Jones chipped in with 13 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Freshman Amya Mumford contributed 10 points and senior captain Jillian Petito tallied 10 points, seven assists and seven steals.
Decatur will host the James M. Bennett Clippers on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
Fenzel-Mergott said the goal for the second half of the season is to “continue to improve, to play hard, play the best basketball we can and take each game as it comes.”
“From the first day we stepped on the floor for tryouts, everyone just connected,” Godwin added. “If we just keep trusting each other, only good things can happen.”
