Quite a tournament performance for Clover Garden’s Reagan Allison: she scores 1,000th career point, she’s named MVP for tournament, team wins championship
By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Reagan Allison set a goal when she began playing high school basketball for Clover Garden.
She kept that on her radar all the way to reaching 1,000 points last week.
“Game by game, I try to keep my head up,” she said. “I’ve had that goal since my freshman year.”
Allison’s milestone mark came in the championship game of the Don Amos Holiday Classic at Graham High School last week. The Grizzlies repeated as champions, and Allison was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row.
“She’s a very, very smart player,” Clover Garden coach Sarah Hardin said. “When she starts making shots, she will not miss. People are picking up on it.”
Perimeter shooting has become one of the distinguishing traits for the guard. She has racked up six 3-point baskets in a game multiple times.
“I used to be not the best shooter,” Allison said. “I’d go outside and shoot and work on getting my form right.”
In reaching the 1,000-point milestone, she entered the tournament title game needing 18.
She scored 17 in the first half. She collected a defensive rebound and went the length of the court and was fouled in the third quarter. Her free throw allowed her to become the second 1,000-point scorer in the Clover Garden program’s history, following former teammate Jaclyn Faucette.
Allison said she began playing basketball at age 5 and joined travel ball teams by the fourth grade.
“I just love the sport,” she said. “I think it’s very challenging. It’s fast paced.”
Allison, who lives in Burlington, is averaging 16.1 points per game this season. She also plays volleyball and softball for Clover Garden and remains undecided about her post-high school sports endeavors. Her mother, Wendy Allison, is an assistant coach with the Clover Garden basketball team.
Allison scored 23 points in the tournament final after posting 24 in the first round against Graham. She averaged four assists and five steals per game in the tournament.
Clover Garden (10-3) defeated Graham 61-35 in the opening round, while Eno River took down River Mill 28-14. Teammates Arissa Duff and Hanna Tickle of Clover Garden were also selected to the all-tournament team.
“They’re just a really good group of girls and we have a lot of fun,” Hardin said.
Hardin, the former Sarah Myatt, is in her first season as the team’s coach. She’s a 2010 Southern Alamance graduate who later played collegiately at Queens University of Charlotte and UNC Wilmington.
In the boys’ bracket, Graham posted its first two victories of the season to capture the title.
The Red Devils overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat River Mill 61-58 in the final.
Graham topped Clover Garden 85-37 in the first round, while River Mill took down Eno River 45-35.
