There was something cathartic for Olivia McGhee about knocking down her 1,000th career point. There wasn’t just the usual sense of accomplishment that follows that kind of milestone after the Louisa County junior surpassed that marker Thursday night in a 66-28 home victory over Goochland. There was something deeper at work.
“It feels real good because I’ve felt like this has kind of been an off year for me and it felt good to finally get it,” McGhee said. “I’ve had that on my goal sheet for a while and I’ve just kept going.”
It’s completely relative, because an “off year” for McGhee would be a career year for essentially anyone else and reaching 1,000 points as a junior is an incredible accomplishment and well ahead of schedule. But that’s not the point. McGhee’s pressure is generated internally, not by external forces or expectations.
“I have very high standards for myself, I hold myself to a certain expectation and when I feel like I don’t meet my expectation, I’m kind of hard on myself,” McGhee said. “Which is a good thing and a bad thing.”
That feeling can drive her to what appear, to some outside observers, to be extreme measures. Like when she decided after a win over Charlottesville that she was going to get into the gym for a couple of extra hours ahead of another game the next day to work some things out both mechanically and mentally. That may seem like a drastic tactic but it’s producing extraordinary results for McGhee. It’s also indicative that while it doesn’t always ring true when coaches say people have no idea what kind of work a player puts in, when Louisa coach Nick Schreck says it about McGhee he’s not blowing smoke.
“I just stay getting shots up, working on my craft always, that’s the only way you can get out of it,” McGhee said. “Playoffs, I always find a way to work my way back to that O that can’t really be stopped so just stay tuned I guess.”
If Thursday is any indication she’s getting there right now. McGhee finished with 25 points and after a couple of early misses found her rhythm, finishing in the lane, on putbacks, off the dribble and with the no-doubt 3-pointer that put her over the 1,000–point mark for her career.
Her performance and Sylvie Jackson’s 19 points as well as Emion Byers’ 13 points helped power the Lions to the victory over Goochland that officially clinched the Lions’ second-straight Jefferson District regular season title. The victory came on senior night too, giving that class a special moment in one of their final regular season home games.
“It was great to (win a district title) again, I love playing with my team, it’s a good memory for me to have playing in my last year,” said Louisa senior Kyla Banks. “And I know they’re going to do it again next year too.”
The Lions’ seniors — Byers, Banks, Isabella Anderson, Shakiya Jones and Quiana Scott — all started for Louisa, giving them a chance to take the floor together for a rare couple of minutes on a team with a lot of contributors from across the classes.
“To be out there with my friends who I grew up with through elementary school, it was really great to be out there with them and to have fun with them,” Banks said.
Louisa led just 14-8 at the end of the first quarter but really ramped up their zone defense after that, holding to just three points in the second quarter as they blew the game open and took a 38-11 lead into halftime. McGhee had 16 of her 25 points in the first half while Jackson scored 11 of her 19 before the break.
Goochland’s Jenika Carter led the Bulldogs with 13 points on the night.
Louisa wraps up the regular season Friday night at home against Monticello before entering postseason play while Goochland travels to Charlottesville Friday.
