County Trio Reaches 1,000-Point Plateau

Suddenly the action came to a halt during a Central High girls basketball game in the Ida S. Baker Christmas Tournament in late December. Ronisha Browdy couldn't quite figure out why.

"They stopped the game and the ref said congratulations," Browdy said. "I'm like, for what?"

The Central senior guard, the county's two-time defending scoring champion, had eclipsed 1,000-points in her prep career. She became the first of three Hernando County hoop stars to reach that mark this season.

Darryn Frazier of the Central boys' squad accomplished the feat on Jan. 29 in a loss to Citrus High, while Nature Coast's Cherikhan Waddy pulled it off Feb. 2 in the Lady Sharks' Class 4A, District 8 Tournament final win over Gulf High.

Continued excellence

Browdy found out she had a shot at 1,000 during the postseason banquet last year, when Head Coach Penny Gressick figured out that she already had 812.

Coming out of West Hernando Middle School, the 5-foot-2 guard immediately found herself on the Lady Bear varsity roster, though as a freshman she played sparingly tallying just 81 points.

As a sophomore the sharp-shooter became the focal point of the Central offense, with 78 of her 105 field goals coming from beyond the three-point line. Her 13.7 scoring average paced the county.

She has continued to fill that primary scoring role throughout her prep career, running away with her second consecutive scoring title at 16.2 points per game as a junior.

Browdy ended this season with a 13.0 scoring average and 1,141 career points.

"Going to college and probably not being able to play basketball, finishing high school and being able to do that (reaching 1,000 points) is big for me," Browdy said. "It's something I always wanted to do.

"...I guess all that stuff is about representing your school. No matter if it's me scoring or one of my teammates for rebounding, as long as Central is there."

Browdy expressed happiness for her friend Frazier, but joked "I did it first."

However, Frazier needed less than two full seasons to pull it off. The junior transferred in from Alaska and immediately shined for the Bears, notching his own scoring title at 19.2 points per game.

He had 461 points as a sophomore, and ended the Citrus game with 540 on the season, giving him 1,001. His 23.2 average through Feb. 5 again paces the county.

"It means a lot. It feels pretty good," Frazier said. "I'd rather have the win, though.

"In the summer I worked really hard on shooting and dribbling and I guess because I've played basketball so long, I got to (1,000) quicker because of all that stuff I did before.

"I have little individual goals and that was one of them. I didn't think I'd get it. But my first year I did good, I knew my second year I was going to get it."

Waddy: NCT's first

A four-year starter for the Lady Sharks, Waddy became the first 1,000-point scorer in school history.

The senior guard, the county's reining Player of the Year, would have reached the mark sooner if she hadn't suffered a leg injury that kept her out of four of her team's last six games prior to regionals.

Stuck on 980, she missed the final three regular season contests, then returned for the 4A-8 quarterfinal against Springstead High, scoring 14 points.

She rested during Nature Coast's semifinal victory over Zephyrhills High, coming back for the final to tally a game-high 13 points.

"I never knew I was 20 points away from it until Coach (Travis) Lamle reminded me of it. Then I was kind of excited," Waddy said. "When we played Gulf I knew I was around it. I was pretty excited about it."

Waddy added that during the game, she didn't realize she had reached the plateau until injured teammate Cayse Houston, keeping the Nature Coast scorebook, pointed it out.

Like Browdy, Waddy immediately made the varsity squad after starring at Powell Middle School. She claimed the starting shooting guard spot by midseason and has never relinquished it.

Starting along with four seniors as a freshman, she averaged just 4.1 points per game. As a focal point of the team the next two seasons, she posted averages of 12.0 and 10.8.

This year she carried an average of 11.3 points per game and finished up with 1,016 career points.

"I never really thought I'd get 1,000 points in my career," Waddy said. "It's exciting to be the first one to have it."

RONISHA BROWDY: BY THE NUMBERS
Year        GP           FG           3PT         FTA        FTM       PCT        TP           PPG
04-05       25            21            09            38            30            79%        81            3.24
05-06       25            105          78            73            54            74%        342          13.7
06-07       25            127          63            108          89            82%        406          16.2
07-08       24            89            60            94            74            79%        312          13.0
TOTAL  99            342          210          313          247          79%        1141        11.5

DARRYN FRAZIER: BY THE NUMBERS (thru 02-05)
Year        GP           FG           3PT         FTA        FTM       PCT        TP           PPG
06-07       24            161          13            191          126          66%        461          19.2
07-08       26            207          38            184          152          83%        604          23.2
TOTAL  50            368          51            375          278          74%        1065        21.3

CHERIKHAN WADDY: BY THE NUMBERS (thru 02-07)
Year        GP           FG           3PT         FTA        FTM       PCT        TP           PPG
04-05       29            43            06            61            28            46%        120          4.14
05-06       27            129          08            119          57            48%        323          12.0
06-07       29            126          09            92            52            57%        313          10.8
07-08 23 107 01 79 45 57% 260 11.3
TOTAL 108 405 24 351 182 52% 1016 9.41