On January 25, senior Madison Fileen laced up her customized Sabrina basketball shoes, wrapped her right wrist for ideal shooting, and relaxed with a few scrolls on TikTok–like any normal game. The Monroe-Woodbury Girls Varsity Basketball team was suiting up for battle against Sullivan West; howver, both her and the packed crowd of students knew that this wouldn’t be an ordinary home game.
With three minutes left in the first half, history was made. As Fileen approached the basket with 22 seconds on the shot clock, she stopped outside the paint, jumped backwards, and sent the rock towards the net. The sound of a swish echoed through the gym. Coaches, players, and fans jumped to their feet, raised arms, and cheered louder than ever as jersey number three scored her 1,000th career point.
The milestone is rare for any girl’s varsity basketball team to achieve, and Fileen delivered Monroe-Woodbury’s first.
“To be the first girl player to score 1,000 points separates her from the myriad of excellent Monroe-Woodbury female basketball players over the years,” said head coach David Powers. “She has worked extremely hard to achieve this goal of 1,000 career points. Numerous hours of work on her own and with her teammates has paid off.”
She has committed to play the game she loves at Converse University in South Carolina.
“It feels great, you know, you’ll always be known as the first,” said Fileen.
Heading onto the court 13 points shy from the legendary feat and nerves at an all-time high, the four-year varsity veteran led the team through a pregame speech: a talk about their game and not hers.
“Madison has always led by her work ethic and positive attitude. She works hard to maintain positive relationships with her teammates. Her teammates in return respect her and enjoy her company,” said Powers.
Starting in second grade, the young Queens resident began her career playing against boys. Her gratitude goes out to those closest to her.
“My mom, dad, siblings for sure, and my best friend,” said Fileen. “They believed in me even on the days that I didn’t, and I’m thankful for them everyday.”
Only 100 more points and seven games stand between Fileen and her next milestone: Becoming Monroe-Woodbury’s all-time scorer in basketball.
