By Staff
They only list junior Katy Stuppy at 5-feet-4 on the roster, but this Chieftain hooper stands taller than anyone who has played in the program.
Last Thursday, Stuppy became the school's all-time leading scorer for girls' basketball.
With just over a season remaining in her high school career, I can envision Katy breaking the all-time scoring mark currently held by Edgar Wilson.
I asked Katy Tuesday night after the game what that would be like. She smiled and said that she would love it and that she would have to call Edgar to tell him about it.
Stuppy exudes confidence, but it's not a cocky confidence at all. It is a confidence of knowing that she has worked extremely hard to get where she is.
When not helping Dowagiac to its first winning season since 1996, Stuppy is working on her game. She spends a lot of time playing AAU basketball to sharpen those skills.
She has played along side some outstanding basketball players, including cousin Sydney Smallbone, who will sign her National Letter of Intent with Tennessee today.
Katy told me Tuesday night following Dowagiac's exciting 52-38 win over Otsego, which pulled Dowagiac into a first place tie in the Wolverine Conference, that she didn't even know she was close to 1,000 career points until the Plainwell game when she ended the night one-point short of the plateau.
"It feels really good," she said when I asked her about scoring that many points and becoming the school's all-time leading scorer for girls. "It's nice, but I feel better about our team having a chance to be conference champs."
That's the type of player Stuppy is. She will put team first before her individual accomplishments.
"It has been overwhelming, but very exciting," she added about the last couple of games. "By I have been trying not to think about it too much."
I don't know if I have seen a better player come through the Dowagiac basketball program.
I never got to see Vicki Williams, Laurie Havel or Kathy Leitke play, but I know they were all outstanding.
I would put Katy up against that trio any day.
She is fearless heading to the basket. I can't count the number of times I have seen her drive to the hoop and get knocked to the floor.
She calmly picks herself up and usually heads to the free throw line where she is deadly accurate.
But perhaps Katy's best attribute, and all the great ones have it, is her ability to make those around her play better.
She also is smart enough to know that her teammates have helped her reach this milestone as well.
"I am glad about what our team is accomplishing," she said. "It's not all about me."
With that type of attitude, Stuppy is going to go far in life.
But right now, she is focused on helping the Chieftains win a league championship.