As a point guard, Amy Jensen’s main focus never was scoring 1,000 points. A point guard’s job is to be the coach on the floor, calling the plays and making the right pass. So when Jensen found out she was close to the accomplishment, it came as news to her.

“I was really surprised because I had no idea that I was even close. When I heard about it, I thought it was a rumor and didn’t think it was true. My dad told me and I was surprised at myself,” Jensen said.

Jensen, Div. 578, entered the Jan. 24 game against Schurz with 988 career points. After the game ended, she had a total of 1,008.

Jensen’s career point total includes all four years that she has played for Lane, including three seasons on the varsity team.

While Jensen is the team’s leading scorer, her mentality is not to go out and take every shot she possibly can.

“My biggest concern is what’s the best shot. I guess everyone takes bad shots, but my goal is to win, whether that means I don’t score and we win the game I’m just as happy if I score a lot and we win the game,” Jensen said.

Jensen credits her team for being by her side when she scored her 1,000th point. Her teammates cheered her on from the bench and held up signs that they made for her to celebrate the accomplishment.

“It’s really exciting and I’m so happy I was able to share it with such an amazing team. They really made it special,” Jensen said.

Ms. Ulmer is the head coach of the Varsity Girls Basketball team and has coached Jensen since her sophomore year. To Ulmer, Jensen is the epitome of a coachable athlete. She never has to worry about pushing Jensen to do her best.    

“She always is trying her hardest, which in turn helps all of her teammates want to try their hardest too. She’s not afraid to push herself and push them, which is really nice to see,” Ulmer said.

In addition to motivating her teammates through her work ethic, Jensen also brings a large sense of energy to the team when her scoring is amped up. As Ulmer puts it, Jensen becomes “infectious.”

“When she starts scoring, as much as we want to push defense, we can’t deny that offense gets the crowd going, gets teammates going, because at the end of the day, people look at the score,” Ulmer said. “Her being able to put numbers on the board really helps her teammates see the light at the end of the tunnel. They also start to want to pick up their game a little bit.”

Because she has been able to coach Jensen for so long, Ulmer said she built up a very special relationship with Jensen. Not only does Jensen work hard, but she acts as a coach while she is on the court.

“She’s really good about saying, ‘Hey how about we try man defense’ or ‘That’s not working so what else can we do?’ It’s really nice to have that relationship with a coach and a player. I feel like high school athletes don’t necessarily get there as quickly as Amy did,” Ulmer said.

For as long as Coach Ulmer has been coaching at Lane (2010-11 school year), no player has reached the thousand point plateau. Without a doubt in her mind, she is very proud of Jensen for getting there.

“It’s a huge deal, it’s very rare. I think it shows obviously her offensive contribution, but behind that thousand points are a thousand hours of practice, a thousand shots every day, thousands and thousands of shots,” Ulmer said. “I think it means more than just the number. It means how dedicated and hardworking and persevering an athlete she is to get to that point.”