Katie Wilson’s 1,000th-point shot.Lady Panther senior basketball player Katie Wilson achieved a milestone that would define her  career. She became the first Panther, boy or girl, to score 1,000 points.
The big moment came on Tuesday, Jan. 21, in a home game against rival Whitewater. Wilson was just 21 points shy of a 1,000. With 3:25 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Lady Panthers holding a big lead over the Wildcats, Wilson took a pass from sophomore shooting guard Alli Jones and put up a shot from just outside the three-point line on the left side of the court.

As the ball swished through the net, her teammates stormed the floor to meet Wilson. They surrounded and congratulated her as the student section began chanting “Katie! Katie! Katie!” Girls head basketball coach Shane Ratliff subbed Wilson out of the game to a standing ovation.

All of her family was in attendance, including her sister Meghan, who came home from Mississippi State to see her sister set the record.

“I don’t know what I was thinking when I took the shot. It just kind of happened. I knew my sister came home from college to see the shot, so it was a big deal,” Wilson said.

After the game, Principal Audrey Toney presented Wilson with a basketball signed by all her teammates and coaches to commemorate her achievement. Wilson also received the game ball from Ratliff when she left the game. Her teammates and family snapped picture after picture to celebrate a moment that Wilson said she will never forget.

Wilson, a four-year player, was the starting point guard for the last two seasons.

“Katie is such a team player,” Ratliff said. “She was always going to try to find her teammates before she thought about taking a shot of her own. ”

The Lady Panthers made the playoffs the last three of Wilson’s four years after a seven-year drought.

While she dominated at the high school level, Wilson said she doesn’t plan to continue in college. “I’ve been playing since I was six years old. I just didn’t want to play in college,” said Wilson, who will follow her sister to Mississippi State. “I’m going to play intramurals, but nothing serious or too competitive.”