BY PARKER HODGE
Kennewick’s Haylee Johnson will be the next player to reach 1,000 career points this season.
She is poised to do it when the Lions travel to Moses Lake to face Issaquah in a non-conference contest on December 29. Game time is 1:45pm.
The game is part of the Moses Lake holiday mixer it is hosting over the winter break.
Going into the game, Johnson is at 993 points for her career. She scored 92 points during a COVID-shortened season her freshman year, but amassed 344 points during her sophomore season followed by 411 points during her junior season last year. She currently is the fourth leading conference scorer with 146 points and is averaging 18.25 points per game.
She has committed to Eastern Oregon University for basketball and track.
She follows Chiawana’s Malia Ruud who was the first player to reach the milestone earlier this season and Walla Walla’s Madison Reibel, who combined with her points from her previous high school in Phoenix, Ariz., reached four-figures during its tournament in Wenatchee just before Christmas.
At least three other players should also make it to 1,000 points in the second half of the 2023-24 season: Izzy Simmons (Hermiston, currently at 956), Macie Milum (Richland, currently at 879) and Lynnea Moran (Hanford, currently at 862). Depending on how deep Kamiakin goes in the playoffs, Nicole Wertenberger may also reach the mark (currently at 778).