Lady Pioneers’ Lampe, Raiders’ McIntire have monumental nights
Submitted photo
West Greene’s Madison Lampe (right) scored her 1,000th career point last Thursday against Geibel Catholic. She joins her twin sister McKenna in the 1,000-point club. McKenna Lampe reached the milestone on Dec. 21.
Waynesburg Central's Darton McIntire (right) dribbles against Belle Vernon in a game on Dec. 23. McIntire became the Raiders' all-time leader scorer, pushing his total to 1,486 points last Friday against South Park.
Throughout the years and decades, Greene County has been known for how successful its wrestling programs are and how it housed some of the most memorable runs by some individual grapplers.
But over the last couple of years, I think the county has been home to a couple of quality basketball programs and a trio of unforgettable players.
West Greene’s Madison Lampe reached the 1,000 career point mark in a 75-12 triumph over Geibel Catholic last Thursday and Waynesburg Central’s Darton McIntire broke the school record for career points with 1,486 in a 64-54 loss to South Fayette last Friday.
Madison is the 16th member of 1,000 point club at West Greene and joins her twin sister McKenna, who surpassed 1,000 career points in a 75-17 win over Jefferson-Morgan on Dec. 21.
“Getting 1,000 points was one of my goals as a freshman, but I really didn’t think about it too much,” Madison said. “I was just focused on the team and winning games. I knew I needed 14 points tonight, but I really didn’t think about it too much. I didn’t keep a count in my head.”
Madison and McKenna are the first ever siblings to hit the scoring plateau in school’s history and are also the first pair of players to go over 1,000 in the same season.
“We definitely push each other in every sport we play in,” Madison said of her sister. “Ever since we were little, we were competitive. But it’s a friendly twin rivalry, and I think it has made us better. We are obviously close and we know what we are thinking on the court.”
Both Lampe sisters have started for the Lady Pioneers since they were freshmen and both have a legit chance of chasing down West Greene’s career points leader and 2006 graduate Rachel Phillips (1,838 points).
“Both Madison and McKenna have such a strong work ethic,” Lady Pioneers’ coach Jordan Watson said. “They are always in the gym working on their shot. Both were slashers when they were freshman, but now they can shoot from anywhere on the court and are complete players. They can shoot well, pass well and of course defend really well.
“I have gotten calls or texts from both of them over the season on Saturdays to see if I could come in and open up the gym for them. They are just relentless workers. They always have had that raw athletic ability, but they also have the drive to continue to get better every year.”
Since their freshmen year and entering Saturday’s non-section game against California, the Lampes and the Lady Pioneers have compiled a 54-14 overall record, a 30-4 mark in section play, back-to-back section titles and the school’s first ever WPIAL semifinal and PIAA playoff appearances last season.
“I think every year as a team we try to work on something and get better on the court,” said McKenna earlier in the season. “I think we are a better passing team this season, and I think we are really unselfish with the ball. We really don’t care who gets the points. We just want to win.”
West Greene, who’s only loss this season came against Class A rival Winchester Thurston, is lined up to perhaps get the No.2 or 3 seed in Class A this year and perhaps get a rematch with the Lady Bears.
The Lampes’ success is not just felt on the basketball court at West Greene, as both have been instrumental parts to the softball and cross county squads.
The Lady Pioneers host California on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and will conclude the regular season at Charleroi on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
Waynesburg’s McIntire broke the previous career points mark held by 2003 graduate PJ Schumacher. Schumacher recorded 18.6 points per game his senior year and went on to play at Division-II University of North Greenville (South Carolina).
After transferring to Waynesburg his sophomore year, McIntire has been on a scoring rampage the last three years and the fact that he was able to accomplish the feat in that time frame is truly incredible.
Heading into this week’s games against South Park and Uniontown, the 6-foot-1 versatile guard has average 25.94 points per game (that’s 493 points in 19 games).
He has led the Raiders in scoring in all but one game this season and scored a season-high 40 points in an 87-86 overtime loss to South Park on Jan. 22.
McIntire broke the 1,000 career point barrier in the season opener against Laurel Highlands with 28 points in a 67-56 defeat.
“I work on my shot the whole year and I take a lot of pride in my offense,” said McIntire earlier in the season after an 80-50 win over Charleroi. “These guys have been great to play with and they have a lot of confidence in me. It’s definitely a shooter’s mentality out there and I don’t want to mess up the flow of our offense. I just care about getting wins and helping out my teammates.”
After concluding Section 3-AAAA play at home versus Uniontown tonight at 7:30, McIntire’s final varsity game will be on Monday at Trinity at 7:30 p.m.