GIRLS BASKETBALL: Calvary Baptist’s Aubrey Hampton scores 1,000th point in victory over Valley Forge Baptist

TOWAMENCIN — Calvary Baptist girls basketball’s Aubrey Hampton came into Friday night just six away from reaching 1,000 career points. And in the opening quarter the senior cut her distance to the milestone in half when she knocked down a 3-pointer.

Her scoring total, however, remained at three for the rest of the first half.

Finally, in the third quarter, the points that seemed so hard to collect came in quick succession.

Hampton drove down the lane to pull within one then after taking a pass from Maycee Ridge connected on a long two-point jumper from the right side to eclipse the milestone at 5:12 left in the third.

“I’m a very mental person so it was a ton of pressure,” Hampton said. “But my teammates did such a good job getting in right into my hands for the shot and I was so relieved to finally get it in and I actually thanked the person that passed it to me and said thank you, it’s good to just score it and start working on it.”

Hampton added two more in the fourth on a drive, finishing the contest with visiting Valley Forge Baptist at nine points and 1,003 and counting in her career, helping the Warriors pull away after the break to earn a 53-44 victory.

“Obviously it’s very exciting,” Hampton said. “If I’m being honest, I didn’t know I was actually close until maybe two weeks ago until my dad (Calvary Baptist head coach Tim Hampton) called me over and said all right you’re actually getting pretty close, if I sub you out that’s why and stuff. And I had no clue, I knew it was attainable but I didn’t know I was right there so getting it is just so exciting.

“I can’t explain how thankful I am and how blessed I am to have the amazing teammates that I have and the amazing coach I have, it’s just an amazing blessing that I can’t explain.”

Aubrey Hampton is just the fourth Calvary Baptist player to score 1,000 points and the first since Aubryn Ridge in 2023.

“It’s just amazing, it just shows how quickly time goes,” Tim Hampton said. “So I remember shooting with her when she was really little and she always had a dream of getting a thousand so it’s kind of bittersweet, I’m happy she got a thousand but that also means she’s a senior too. But no, it’s really neat for her to do it in front of her grandparents and her uncles and stuff so that was cool.”

Aubrey Hampton came into the week 19 points shy of 1,000 then scored 13 in the Warriors’ 43-23 win over Upper Bucks Christian Tuesday.

“Last game I went into it thinking ‘OK this is not going to be the game,’” she said. “And then I scored 13 and I knew I could do it, so I didn’t score any points the second half because I just wanted to distribute it, cause I wanted to score it tonight cause my family’s in and stuff.

“So it’s a huge relief to score it cause the second half I was like OK what if actually don’t score it today because I’m such a mental player. I’m just so relieved but it’s such a blessing.”

Mackenzie Bryant led the Warriors Friday with 11 points while Morgan Boyle added 10 points.

Aubrey Hampton hit an early three but could not connect on any additional long-range attempts in the first half. The Warriors, meanwhile, found themselves in a quick 14-6 hole before collecting the last six points of the first quarter to make it 14-12.

“I think the adrenaline was crazy and I think we just came out with so much energy, so I think it kind of flustered us on offense,” Aubrey Hampton said. “But we pushed through and we worked as a team and we got what we came in for.”

Four straight points from Bryant gave Calvary Baptist its first lead at 16-14. The Warriors were again up three at 20-17 after consecutive Boyle buckets. Valley Forge Baptist scored the next five — Kaitlyn Smith’s 3-pointer putting the Patriots ahead 22-20 before Hannah Rosenzweig’s basket knotted things at the break.

In the third, Calvary Baptist took the lead for good with an 8-0 run that was capped by Aubrey Hampton recording career points 1,000 and 1,001.

“I talked to them at halftime, Valley Forge did a great job, but I felt like they were making a lot of shots that I didn’t think they were going to keep making the rest of the game,” Tim Hampton said. “And we were missing a lot of shots that I didn’t think we were going to keep missing the rest of the game. So it sort of evened itself out in the next half, I said keep playing defense like you know how to and our shots will start falling and that’s exactly what happened.”

Ridge’s 3-pointer broke a 24-24 tie with a Christine Njanike free throw at 6:29 making 28-24 Warriors. Aubrey Hampton cut down the lane to score inside then eclipsed 1,000 on a jumper off a cross-court pass from Ridge to give Calvary Baptist a 32-24 advantage.

“When I shot it I was like ‘Oh airball and then it went in I was like oh my goodness it went in,” Aubrey Hampton. “And then the moment was just so surreal and I was just trying to live the moment but I don’t know, I don’t like the pressure but I enjoyed it a lot.”

The game was paused to acknowledge the senior’s achievement with balloons and photos along with a few words from Tim Hampton.

“I wasn’t concerned with her getting it tonight, she’s an unselfish player so she tries to get her teammates involved,” Tim Hampton said. “And I knew it was a matter of time. We did talk a little bit right after halftime about driving to the lane, and then when she started doing that it opened up a lot.”

A four-year varsity player, Aubrey Hampton was the only returning starter for last year’s Calvary Baptist side but despite the lack of experience this season’s Warriors group has remained undefeated in Atlantic Coast Christian Athletic Conference (ACCAC) play.

Calvary Baptist’s next two games are against Bicentennial Athletic League teams, hosting Morristown 6 p.m. Monday then visiting Faith Christian 6 p.m. Thursday.

“This year, I’m the only returning player, last year we had a senior-heavy team and our first off the bench players were also seniors so it’s a whole-new team,” Aubrey Hampton said. “We had no expectations this year, we’re doing amazing. I’m so blessed to have the teammates that I have. We’re working well together, we also have a very strong work ethic, we have Saturday practices, we come out during the week and we work hard and I believe that’s how we got here.”

After trailing 32-26, Valley Forge Baptist pulled to within four twice in the third, the last time at 36-32 following a basket from Ryan Fitzpatrick. Calvary Baptist, however, finished the quarter up 40-33 after a Kassia Jury bucket with the Warriors starting the fourth with nine straight points to push their lead to 49-33.

Calvary Baptist 53, Valley Forge Baptist 44

Valley Forge Baptist 14 8 11 11 – 44

Calvary Baptist 12 10 18 13 – 53

Valley Forge Baptist: Rylan Fitzpatrick 5 0 6-10 16; Maya Martinez 2 1 2-5 9; Aali Moore 4 0 0-4 8; Noelle Buckman 3 0 0-0 6; Kaitlyn Smith 1 1 0-0 5; Abigail Hale 0 0 0-2 0; Totals 15 2 8-21 44.

Calvary Baptist: Mackenzie Bryant 4 1 0-1 11; Morgan Boyle 5 0 0-0 10; Aubrey Hampton 3 1 0-0 9; Kassia Jury 4 0 0-0 8; Christine Njanike 2 0 1-4 5; Hannah Rosenzweig 3 0 1-2 7; Maycee Ridge 0 1 0-2 3; Totals 21 3 2-9 53.