Jan. 9—Savanah Laurenty has already made a name for herself as a member of the Riverside girls basketball team.
But after the night she had last week in the Beavers’ 68-30 win over West Geauga, it’s safe to say the senior guard hasn’t finished making her mark on the program.
In one memorable evening, Laurenty not only scored her 1,000th career point for the black and gold, but she also pulled down her 791st career rebound to set a program record for boards. The frightening thing is, Laurenty isn’t even halfway through her senior year, so there are plenty more records to conquer and expand upon.
“This is much more than I had ever imagined,” Laurenty said of her feats, which will continue to be built upon. “Going into high school, I had 1,000 points as a goal. Over the last few years rebounding became a big thing of mine. To do both of these things in the same night is really special.”
The reigning Kaayla Chones Award winner as The News-Herald’s girls basketball player of the year, Laurenty scored 28 points to go with 23 rebounds on her special night. She needed 12 points to hit 1,000 and got it quickly — and the rebounds just kept coming and coming.
Amazingly, neither mark is a career high. She had 34 points in a game last year and 25 rebounds earlier this season against Cleveland Heights.
At the beginning of the new year, Laurenty is averaging 18.4 points, 14.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.4 steals and 2.2 blocked shots per game for the 5-6 Beavers.
The new rebound record eclipses the previous record of 790 rebounds set a year ago by teammate Sam Volpe, who graduated this past spring.
“It was very special playing with Sam,” Laurenty said. “She pushed me on the court to be a better player. I think we pushed each other.
“The rebounding record means a lot to me. I feel it shows my determination on the court. I work hard to go after and grab boards to help our team. I’d like to get 1,000 rebounds by the end of the year.”
Laurenty has already signed her national letter of intent to play college basketball at Rochester University (Mich.). But as much as she’s looking forward to college, she said she is trying to slow down the hands of time to enjoy this senior season, which has afforded her an opportunity to play alongside her freshman sister Aubrey.
“We’ve played a few AAU games together in the past, but not like this,” Laurenty said. “It’s really special getting to play with my sister. … It really has been a dream career here. I have some more things I want to accomplish, but all in all, it’s been amazing. I couldn’t ask for much more.”
