Conestoga’s Ellie Mack scores 1,000th career point in Pioneers’ final game

Lower Merion – Fittingly, the final basket of Ellie Mack’s Conestoga basketball career Tuesday allowed the Central League MVP to reach the 1,000 career point milestone.

With 3:45 left and Conestoga trailing Garnet Valley 50-38 in the second round of the PIAA Class AAAA state tournament, the 6-foot-2 Pioneer senior hit a jump shot from the right side to score her 1,000th and 1,001st career point.
The game was stopped, and Mack’s Conestoga teammates mobbed and hugged the popular senior. At the end of the game, a 60-42 loss to Garnet Valley, Mack (who scored 22 points on the night) continued to hug teammates and well-wishers on the court while shedding a few tears.

“It’s bittersweet, because it’s the end of our season,” Mack said. “The team got me here [to the 1,000-point mark]. Our team came together in the post-season, and every game they won, it allowed me to play one more game. We had never won a state [tournament] game [during my time here], and it meant so much to win in the first round [on March 4 against District 11 champion Nazareth].”
At the beginning of the season, Mack was coming off an ACL injury that sidelined her for her entire junior campaign. She tore the ACL the summer before her junior year during the middle of AAU season, just before the start of college evaluation period. She didn’t start playing again until last April, about nine months after the initial injury.
“The hardest part about the rehab was staying motivated because of how long the process was and the time it took to get through each phase of recovery,” Mack said in December. “I didn’t see much improvement the first few months and it was hard to persevere through the pain when I didn’t feel like I was improving.”
Coming into this season, Mack needed approximately 500 points to reach the 1,000 point milestone.
“Having the ACL injury dampened my chances of scoring 1,000 points – I didn’t think [at the beginning of the season] that I had a real chance to get to 1,000 points,” said Mack.
Mack’s first game back from the injury was a 24-point, 12-rebound effort in Conestoga’s 47-34 season-opening win against Springfield. She went 14-for-14 from the free throw line.
“When I was recovering from my ACL injury I couldn’t do much in regards to basketball, so I spent most of my time shooting free throws and working on ball handling,” said Mack after the season opener.
The Bucknell University-bound senior continued her fine play throughout the 2015-16 season, and received Central League Most Valuable Player honors.
“I didn’t want to let the thought of scoring 1,000 points affect my play [earlier this season],” said Mack. “I didn’t want to be selfish with the ball.”
Conestoga girls’ basketball head coach Chris Jeffries, minutes after watching his players pour out their affection for Mack following the game, said, “Ellie is everything you could want in a basketball player – at 6-foot-2, she’s the best ballhandler, shooter, passer, rebounder. … And she’s a better person than a basketball player.
“We went through her ACL injury with her last year, and she re-dedicated herself to the team. She worked out before and after practice, and she earned the respect of every kid on the team. She attended every clinic, and pledged to every [underclassman] that wants to keep playing [beyond this season] that she’ll work with them, practice with them, to make the team better.
“Through her 1,000 points here [at Conestoga], she never put herself above the team.”
Fun facts – Ellie Mack
Favorite book: The Help
Favorite TV show: Parks and Recreation
Favorite movie: The Lion King
Favorite athlete: Maya Moore
Favorite pre-game meal: Wawa sandwich and Nilla Wafers.
Birth date: April 10, 1998.