Eastpointe High School basketball player records 1,000th career point

EASTPOINTE — On Friday, Feb. 21, Da’Nyah Sadler drove to the rim, made contact with her defender, and stepped back for a shot. When the ball came down, it ended up being the 1,000th career point of her Eastpointe High School basketball career.

“It went around a little bit and then it went in,” Sadler, a senior, said. “I was excited. I jumped up and down. … We stopped the game to enjoy the moment.”

One thousand points is a big milestone for high school basketball players. On the court after celebrating the bucket, Sadler realized the magnitude of the moment.

“I was filled with so much excitement,” Sadler said. “It was a big moment for me because I know I worked for it. … I’m going to always remember that day.”

Sadler sacrificed a lot over the years to improve her basketball abilities and help grow not only her own performance, but Eastpointe’s team as a whole.

“I got to high school and I was working hard for something that I wanted,” Sadler said. “The work that I put in I don’t regret. I don’t regret not being able to hang out with friends and stuff. It got me to this moment here. … I was determined.”

Eastpointe’s team is led by coach Deon Woods, who took over three seasons ago when Sadler was a sophomore. He’s seen her grow from a promising young player into a program legend.

“It was surreal,” Woods said. “She’s my first thousand-point scorer as a coach. I was just like her (in that moment); I just sat back and took it all in.”

Woods said that he’s been building around Sadler since he took over, meaning an underclassman was leading the team three years ago. She was one of the team’s impact players from the start.

“When the last coach stepped away, I saw so much potential in (Sadler),” Woods explained. “I threw my name in the hat to get the job just because I knew the potential Da’Nyah had as a sophomore.”

This will be Sadler’s last season at Eastpointe, and that’s going to be a major adjustment for the program going forward.

“She has a big impact. … She pushes everybody to get better,” Woods said. “She’s super competitive and a heck of an athlete. She’s definitely going to be missed and I’m glad she left her mark on the program.”

Under Woods, the program has taken large strides forward. This season, the team went undefeated in the Macomb Area Conference Bronze division and has improved each of the last three years.

“We started off really small,” Sadler said. “Throughout the years we got so much better. … I’m grateful for the teammates that came along in those years.”

The celebration is short-lived, however. Sadler, Woods and Eastpointe are now all focused on the next goal: district playoffs.

“We really want (districts) back,” Sadler said. “We’re working for that every day. So right now that’s really our main focus. … We’re really determined.”

Eastpointe is scheduled to play Harper Woods Chandler Park to start the district tournament at 7 p.m. Monday, March 3, at St. Clair Shores South Lake High School.