Marathon senior Brooke Tillotson became Marathon’s all-time leading scorer after scoring a career high of 50 points in the 66-35 win against Tioga Friday night. With her great play, Tillotson added Marathon’s single game highest individual scoring performance to her resume.
Marathon’s previous scoring record was held by Carla Tagliente (1,692). Brooke now leads the school record with 1,706 points and counting.
When asked about how she felt about hitting the record, Tillotson said, “It feels great! We didn’t know that it was going to be tonight. I was 37 points off, so just coming into it with the mindset that it would either have to be tonight or in front of an away crowd with limited expectators, half of my family, and none of my friends. So I really wanted to hit it tonight, and it’s so special to hit it at home in front of all of my community.”
“We had a game plan going in,” said Marathon Head Coach Andrew Pierce. “I was confident all day and all week. The match-up we had, the situation was good, and I thought she had a great chance. 36 was the number to tie and 37 was the number to break the record. I had a really good feeling that she was going to have a big night and set the record with style, and she did it. 50 points and an incredible output. She made it look easy. It was great to have it happen here, with her family and the Marathon community.”
After a dominant first half from the Olympians, the score was 37-19.
In the second half, the Olympians kept feeding Brooke’s hot hand that ultimately led her to break the record halfway through the third quarter.
“I was looking at a video from her first points as an eighth grader,” said Brooke’s father John Tillotson. “She beats a girl off the dribble on top of the key. She’s just inside the foul line. Pulls up to hit this beautiful jumper that swishes through, and turns around to run down the court with this huge smile on her face. I bet at that point she never dreamed that she would have 1,700 plus points at some time in her career.”
Brooke Tillotson with her mom and dad after breaking the school record in points.
“One of the things that Brooke has really done to step up her game is that in the off-season she works hard with Maurice and Lindsay Kearney who are part of the SUNY Cortland program," added John Tillotson. "They have really helped Brooke in her all around game, attitude, and shooting. They have taken the time to mentor her, and make her the basketball player she is. I appreciate how hard she (Brooke) works in the off-season, because that’s what makes the difference in the regular season.”
The Lady Olympians were led by Brooke’s 50 points and Abby Ensign (12 points).
According to Brooke, her 50 point game was inspired by her father (John Tillotson) who made a social media post on Facebook asking people to come support the home game.
Here’s a look at the Facebook post that Brooke was mentioning:
(Photo Source: John Tillotson's Facebook)
Brooke continued, “Like come on dad. Give me more credit than that; so I came in ready to go.”
Tioga was led by Julia Bellis (21 points), Reese Howey (4 points), and Abby Foley (4 points).
Here is a score breakdown of the game:
Up next, the now 12-2 Lady Olympians (#3 ranked in NYS Class D) will play today (January 29th) on the road against Ithaca at 3pm.
