Shooting for victory: Kayla Overbeck breaks all career record
Another two points – About to score when playing against Westlake on January 12th, Kayla Overbeck, senior, has broken the All-Career record for the most points scored in high school girls’ and boys’ basketball. Samantha Meyer/Prowler
After four years on the girls basketball team, Kayla Overbeck, senior, broke the All-Career record for most points scored in high school basketball – both boys and girls.
Darren Burge, head coach of girl’s varsity basketball, has been coaching Kayla Overbeck since freshmen year and has viewed her progression from a good basketball player to one of the top players in California.
“She works hard on her game and has improved her skill set every season at NP, but it’s her motor that sets her apart from other highly touted players. She simply out works her competition and she never gives up,” Burge said. “She currently leads all players in California, Division 1, in double/doubles (points/rebounds) – when you see a stat like that, drop the mic and walk out the door.”
On Jan. 23, during a game against Chaminade High School, Overbeck crushed the current all career school record by a staggering 14 points. “Brynn Cameron has held the record at NP since ’04 with 1,674 points. Kayla finished the night with 1,688 points. The career scoring record is such a big deal because it represents (the) highest level of dedication, focus, and skill over four years,” Burge said.
After a foul early in the game, Overbeck had to sit out for the rest of the first half of the game, but went into the second half motivated to help her team. “I wasn’t really focused on breaking the record. I was more focused on getting my team back into a rhythm,” Overbeck said. “I think it was just a team mindset instead of a personal mindset.”
“She’s such a high caliber player,” Chloe Diestel, senior and one of Kayla’s teammates, said. “I think it says something that she was able to break the record in a game that was against such a good team.”
After hearing the news of her achievements, Overbeck didn’t miss a beat. “I was excited but at the same time I was determined to break even more records,” Overbeck said.
Now, she can focus on working as hard as possible in order to bring herself and her team to future successes. “I just want to break as many as I can, so it’s just the mentality of pushing myself harder in the next (few) games.”
