Mepham's Makayla Daube scores 1,000th career point in win over New Hyde Park

Makayla Daube has been dreaming of this day for as long as she can remember.

The senior recalls attending Mepham girls basketball games as a third-grader and being in awe of the players on the court. She would often visit the showcase behind the gymnasium with honorary basketballs of players’ accomplishments and milestones and even from an early age, Daube was determined to see her name in there one day.

After Saturday, she’ll have a claim no other Mepham girls basketball player can make. Daube scored her 1,000th point, which has been done before, but she’s the first Mepham girls basketball player to have both 1,000 varsity points and 1,000 rebounds, according to coach Jim Mulvey.

“When I was a little kid, this is something I dreamed of,” Daube said. “And to have 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds really shows how impactful my career is and I hope my legacy is here at Mepham.”

Daube finished with 26 points, 15 rebounds and five assists to lead host Mepham to a 68-54 victory over New Hyde Park in Nassau Conference AA-II girls basketball play on Saturday afternoon. The 5-10 senior scored her 1,000th point with her second basket of the contest after catching a pass in the post and going to the basket for a layup with 4:19 left in the first quarter. The game was briefly stopped for a celebration and to recognize her accomplishment. Daube credited her teammates for making this milestone possible.

“Every day before practice I would look at Kristen O’Brien’s 1,000-point ball and that was my biggest inspiration,” said Daube, a five-year varsity player. “It was always my goal to be in that showcase and have a ball like that, so when I knew how close I was today, I was really excited for this game.”

“She’s a methodical player and that’s been her career, too, she’s just chipped away at it,” Mulvey said. “She’s tough, she gets rebounds inside and she’s tough to guard because she can handle the ball, too. I’m proud of her.”

Sophia Beck added 20 points and 10 rebounds and Grace Skulavik added 13 points and six rebounds and Mulvey also credited her for a strong defensive performance.

Maeve Downing had 23 points and Ava Orbon added 13 points for New Hyde Park (6-5, 4-2).

Mepham (8-3, 5-1) closed the final 5:45 of the second quarter on an 11-2 run to take a 34-27 lead at halftime. The Pirates also started the second half on a 10-2 run to take control of the contest.

“We started getting more rebounds, pushed the ball more in transition and that allowed us to really break a little bit of a lead going into halftime and from there we capitalized,” Daube said. “We came out of halftime on fire, we made some nice shots and that really helped us for a nice team win.”