By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
RICHLAND – It took nearly the entire first quarter, but Dowagiac junior Katy Stuppy set a new school career scoring record Thursday night against host Gull Lake.
Stuppy also became only the second player in Dowagiac history to amass more than 1,000 career points.
She joined April Danzy, who starred for the Chieftains from 1996 until 1998. Danzy finished with 1,001 points.
Stuppy's basket with 56.7 seconds left in the opening quarter tied Danzy.
When she scored at the 4:33 mark of the second period, she stood alone atop the all-time scoring list for the Chieftains.
Stuppy finished with 14 points and now has 1,013 points in her career with little over a year left to play.
"That's quite an accomplishment," Dowagiac coach Greg Blomgren said.
Blomgren also noted that Stuppy will be honored at the Chieftains' final home game on Tuesday.
She can now set her sights on becoming the leading scorer for both boys and girls. She needs better than 1,400 points to surpass Edgar Wilson.
The all-time scoring mark is not the only record that Stuppy holds.
She completely rewrote the record book last season for the Chieftains.
A Class B honorable mention All-State selection as a sophomore, Stuppy also holds the records for points scored in a single season, most points scored in a season, most assists, most free throws attempted, most free throws made and most 3-pointers made.
The only single season record she didn't break last year was for rebounding.
That record belongs to Danzy, who had 27 rebounds in 1996.
Stuppy scored 38 points against Lakeshore in the first meeting with the Lady Lancers back in September of 2005.
She broke the old record of 33 points, which was shared by Laurie Havel (1978) and April Danzy (1998).
She averaged 19.8 points per contest.
Stuppy averaged about 10 points per game her freshman campaign.
She broke Kathy Leitke's record of most points in a single season as she scored 435 for the Chieftains.
Leitke held the record with 375 points, which was set in 1979.
Stuppy dished out 78 assists last year to eclipse the old mark of 71, also held by Leitke.
Leitke, who is now the head softball coach at Western Michigan University, was on hand for Thursday night's contest.
Stuppy, who started all 22 games for the Chieftains in 2005, made 145 of the 189 free throws she attempted (77 percent).
Lori Fosdick attempted 174 free throws in 1971, while she made 95 of those attempts.