D’Ambrosio’s 1,000th timed right for Springfield

SPRINGFIELD — Jordan D’Ambrosio didn’t want to be in another state when she scored her 1,000th point.

“I didn’t want to get it in Virginia,” said the Springfield High senior forward.

The Cougars dominated on their holiday trip in Williamsburg, Va., sweeping the Colonial Invitational, of which D’Ambrosio was selected tournament MVP.

To become just the fifth player in Springfield girls basketball history to reach the milestone, D’Ambrosio hoped it would happen somewhere in Pennsylvania, preferably in Delaware County … and especially within the cozy confines of Springfield’s Cougar Gymnasium.

“It’s nice to get it on your home court,” she said.

When D’Ambrosio drove to the basket and scored her eighth and ninth points of a 58-33 victory over Penncrest, her teammates stormed the floor. There was lots of hugging. D’Ambrosio became the first Springfield girls basketball player to score 1,000 since All-Delco Myneshia McKenzie during the 2009-10 season. The program record of 1,194 points, held by Erin Stiteler, now becomes an achievable goal for D’Ambrosio.

“When you think about it, it’s pretty cool,” D’Ambrosio said. “It’s something to be proud of. I guess it’s better to get it over with earlier (in the season), so that there’s not a ton of pressure on me to do it.”

There’s a chance D’Ambrosio will watch teammate Belle Mastropietro score her 1,000th point later in the season.

“Especially since we have been playing together for so long and we’re so close, it was great to see her score her 1,000th point and to run over and hug her,” Mastropietro said.

D’Ambrosio was happy to hear that her former AAU Comets teammate also scored her 1,000th point Friday. Mandy McGurk accomplished the feat in Academy of Notre Dame’s win over Baldwin School earlier in the day.

“I heard she was close,” D’Ambrosio said. “That’s good for her.”

D’Ambrosio, who recently committed to Widener, scored a game-high 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the field. She added three steals and an assist and was 3-for-3 at the free-throw line.

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