Steinman Grand as Pittsfield Girls Top Taconic
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The hand-drawn numbers were hanging from the wall, the giant balloons were at the ready, and Peyton Steinman’s name already was stenciled on the banner honoring Pittsfield High’s most prolific scorers.
There was not very much doubt that this would be the night Steinman joined the 1,000-point club.
But she provided a little bit of drama in scoring the points that most in the capacity crowd came to see.
“I saw that Makailey [Cookis] had the steal, so my first thought was to break, and I did,” Steinman said, talking through the historic moment. “I got the ball, and I didn’t even know if it was going in. It kind of rolled around a little bit.
“But it went in, and it was good.”
It was Steinman’s 12th point of the night, giving the Generals’ junior exactly 1,000 for her career and helping send the team to a 61-29 win over Taconic.
The big bucket came with 26 seconds left in the first quarter, giving Pittsfield (8-3) a 17-5 lead at the time.
Steinman said she was happy to get over the hump and reach the milestone early in the game. Her coach said he was enjoying the buildup and sounded a little disappointed that the suspense was over before the first period expired.
“Actually, we liked the crowd before she got the 1,000,” Joe Racicot said. “They were roaring at every basket. That’s how it should be.
“It’s a good distraction to get out of the way, but we were looking forward to it all season. We were hoping it would happen at home, and it did. So that was a plus.”
Steinman scored just two more points the rest of the way, but the Generals did not need her to do much more offensively.
Pittsfield pulled away from Taconic (2-9) in the second quarter, when Bella Aitken scored nine of her game-high 16 in a 13-0 run that opened a 35-11 lead late in the half.
“Bella’s been missing in action as far as scoring,” Racicot said. “It was good for her to come out and show she still had it. We knew she had it all along, but it’s just a matter of her applying herself to get it.”
Julia Eline-Wright added 11 points and seven rebounds, and Toni Satrape had a game-high nine boards as Pittsfield won its second straight.
Taconic was led by Ashley Rufo with nine points and six rebounds. Jane Walker scored eight in a losing cause.
Taconic has a few days off before hosting Hoosac Valley on Wednesday.
Steinman gets to enjoy the big night for a few days before the team takes on Lenox on Tuesday.
“It’s been crazy,” she said. “A lot of my friends have been talking about it. We had a pep rally today, too, where they announced it. It’s been crazy, but it’s fun.
“I was a little worried about it — what if I don’t get it. But it happened, it’s over with, and now I can relax.”