Haddonfield Memorial High School senior Taylor Sehdev is used to being in the background as goalie during her soccer games. But in basketball, it is her time to shine.
Sehdev shone brightly on Jan. 28 as she reached her 1,000th career point during the Haddonfield game against Collingswood High School.
“It was great. My team came and jumped on me, my whole family was there, and the whole gymnasium was cheering,” Sehdev said.
Sehdev has been playing basketball for a long time. Before school, she would play with her dad in the driveway and began playing in organized games in first grade. She continued with the sport, doing well and receiving support from her family.
Sehdev never really imagined going for 1,000 points until her freshman year. She found out she was scoring well during that year and decided to set a goal of 250 points per year.
To prepare, she not only worked with her team and trainers to get better, but worked on her shooting by herself.
“I know shooting is my strongest strength, so I keep working on that,” Sehdev said.
She said one of the hardest parts of being a strong shooter is defenders target her. However, one of her favorite things with basketball is the sense of tightness of the girls basketball team. It works together to back Sehdev up and pass her the ball when she is free and also to have her teammates open when she can’t shoot.
Normally playing forward or shooting guard, Sehdev increased her scoring each year. At the basketball game before Jan. 28, she was nine points away from achieving her goal. She said she set it up so she would get her 1,000th point at a home game.
For Sehdev, things didn’t go down like she thought they would, but it was just amazing. In the first Haddonfield possession of the game, Sehdev scored a three-pointer. Then with the second possession came another three, and another, and she reached her goal faster than she thought.
“It was an awesome feeling. I couldn’t have done it a better way,” Sehdev said.
Her teammates hugged her in celebration once she reached her goal. Her family was there to celebrate, too, bringing balloons for the occasion. The whole audience in the gymnasium cheered for her in excitement.
“It was a great feeling. They stopped (the game) and we had a little celebration there. My family was standing there waiting and we took pictures. It was really nice,” Sehdev said.
The achievement was that much sweeter as Haddonfield defeated Collingswood, 54–26.
Sehdev hopes the team goes far this year in the playoffs. For her final year, she thinks it would be great if the team got further than ever in her high school career.
After basketball, Sehdev will continue to play soccer, as she is in a club that plays in the spring and summer and will also do so at Gettysburg College. She fell in love with the campus and is looking forward to going there. Though she isn’t exactly sure what she wants to study, she is considering the field of health sciences.
