Senior Sophia Pankratz is one of the best basketball players Hastings High has ever seen. Besides her incredible athleticism and skills, she is a leader on the team and pushes herself to achieve more than she has before. Pankratz has shown this to be true in the past few weeks.
On Saturday, January 23, Pankratz broke the school record for the most points scored in a career by a girl. On Tuesday, January 26, Pankratz broke the record for most points scored in a career by a girl or a boy. On Friday, January 29, Pankratz got her career points total over 1000.
“I was excited to be able to break it. I feel like it was a lot of hard work that paid off, but also, I’m just excited for the success that our team has had along with that this season,” Pankratz said.
Pankratz has undoubtedly had an incredible season, but her team has also. The Lady Tigers have been ranked seventh by the Lincoln Journal Star and have a record of 12-5. Both Pankratz and her coach, Greg Mays, believe the team has played a huge role in her achievements.
“It’d be real easy for things to go south when someone’s scoring that proportion of our points…they’re very oriented on what’s the best way to be a better basketball team, and to win games, and to have fun. And they seem to be able to both win games and have fun with her scoring so they’ve been happy to do their part,” Mays said.
While it was a team effort for Pankratz to do so well, she has known since the beginning of the season how close she’s been to breaking these records. However, when the time came for Pankratz to break the record for most points in a career by a girl, she had no idea what was going on.
“I was not hitting my shots in the fourth quarter and I had a lot of people telling me to keep shooting and I was a little confused because we were up by so much, and I kept missing. And then, on one play I got fouled and I went to the line and I made my first one and then Bailey (Richman) came up to me and was like, ‘Sophia, you just broke the record,’. And then I missed my second one,” Pankratz said.
Pankratz’s records are impressive, but the impact they have had on the girls’ basketball program is even greater. Mays said the program has reached new heights with Pankratz’s record breaking. Pankratz is also very proud of the support the team has gotten recently.
“It’s really humbling knowing they are so supportive of the program and of me. It’s great that all these people are trying to come out to our games now to watch us,” Pankratz said.
Someone once said “with great power comes great responsibility,” and Pankratz realizes that. Young girls look up to her and she wants them to know the great things that can come from playing basketball.
“Have fun with it. You do have to put in a lot of time if you want to be great but at the same time… it doesn’t feel like work when you surround yourself with people who also want to be there,” Pankratz said. “So I’d tell girls to stick with it, find what they love, surround themselves with a good group of girls to play with, and it is really just a fun and rewarding sport.”
Pankratz is not only one of a kind in basketball but as a leader. She has helped to bring the Lady Tigers from a two-win season a few years back to a state appearance last year and a ranking this year. Tiger basketball would not be the same without Pankratz and the attention she brings to the sport.
“As someone who’s been around Hastings for a long time, it’s just always exciting when you see one of those special people who kind of transcends time. Hastings has had a string of good basketball players and she certainly ranks with the best I’ve ever seen,” Mays said.
