Four Corners Upper School’s Senior Danielys Peña-Ponce becomes the first ever basketball player to reach 1000 career points in the school’s history.
On Thursday, Jan. 15th, the Four Corners Girls Varsity Basketball team had an away game against Lakeland Christian High School. But this game was not about trying to beat the opposing team; it was about watching Peña become part of FCUS history.
“Watching Dani grow these last 4 years has been a core memory as a coach. Dani has put a lot of work into her game, on her own, in the weight room, and through travel. As a freshman, I never thought she would score a thousand points as well as set the girls’ record for scoring at FCUS,” coach Kylie Root said.
After the Coyotes’ game on Tuesday, Jan. 13th, against Lake Nona High School, Peña only had eight points left to score in order to reach 1000 career points.
“The week itself wasn’t too stressful, but the day of the game was when I really started to feel nervous, knowing it was going to happen and how suspicious everyone was acting,” Peña stated.
Peña has been part of the FCUS girls’ basketball team since her freshman year, but she never thought that she would accomplish something as big as reaching 1000 points.
“As a freshman, I never thought something like this would happen. Reaching 1,000 points wasn’t even on my mind back then,” Peña said.
When Peña finally made that 2-point shot during the third quarter of the game, she couldn’t even think about the fact that she had made history; what was more important was that she finally accomplished her goal.
“Honestly, I was thinking, ‘Wow, I really did this.’ It didn’t feel real at first, but I was proud knowing all the work I put in had officially paid off,” Peña explained.
However, Peña did not only make herself proud. Her teammate and friend, junior Briana Carrion, even teared up watching Peña’s accomplishment live.
“I have been playing with Dani for the past four years, and I love playing with her. Not only is she my teammate, but we got close off the court, which helped build our on-court chemistry,” Carrion continued, “Witnessing the moment that she scored her thousand points was so incredible, I felt so happy for her, especially that she was the first in Four Corners to get 1,000 career points. I was just so proud of her, I teared up a little bit.”
Just like Carrion, Root also had an emotional response to the monumental moment. Root has been Dani’s coach for four years and has considered it a privilege to watch her grow into the person she is now.
“She is a true leader on and off the court. She took the team and has carried them on her back and never got discouraged when we lost. Each game this year was played with a purpose to go out her senior year on a high. She worked hard to get her 1000+ points. The team did not let her score easily. Dani has left her mark on girls basketball and created many memories along the way,” Root explained.
However, this relationship is far from one-sided. To Peña, Root, and the other girls’ basketball coaches have become family.
“My relationship with my coaches has grown a lot over the years. They’ve always supported me, encouraged me to do better when time got rough, seen me through the hardest time, and never looked at me differently, but most importantly, have made me feel like they’re my own like family,” Peña said.
Over the past few years, the FCUS cheer and basketball teams have worked very closely together. While most of the time FCUS cheerleaders only cheer at home games, cheer coach Shannon Marino made sure that her team would be there to cheer on Peña during such a big moment.
“This is a huge deal for any athlete to achieve this accomplishment. Not many athletes are able to say that they have been able to score 1000 points in just four seasons. I wanted to help make it special for Dani and have as much of a home crowd that we could”
With the mixture of parents, friends, family, and cheerleaders, Peña was overwhelmed with the amount of love being shown for her.
“It honestly didn’t feel real, or I didn’t think that many people would come. It was an amazing feeling to see how many people showed up and supported me,” Peña said.
While Peña was happy to see everyone, it was her mom being there that meant the most to her.
“Having my mom there made it really special. She’s been supporting me since sixth grade, when I first touched a basketball, and has sacrificed so much to want me to succeed in the sport that I love. Being able to reach this goal with her there meant everything to me, knowing she’s been there from the start,” Peña stated.
With this being Peña’s senior year, and the year she makes school history, Peña has had a lot of time to reflect on how far she has truly come.
“I’ve grown significantly both as an athlete and as a person. I’ve become stronger through consistent training, gained experience through AAU basketball, and improved my shot selection by focusing on high-percentage shots. All of this has helped me become more confident,” Peña explained.
As a senior this year, Peña has had a lot of time to reminisce. While Peña is incredibly grateful to be making history at FCUS, she wants to make sure her legacy is not only a score.
“It means a lot to be the first player at FCUS to reach 1,000 points. But I don’t want to be remembered just for scoring. I want people to remember me as someone who worked hard in school, was on the AB Honor Roll, had a job as a manager, and was on the girls’ varsity basketball team, and to let everyone know that it is possible to do anything if you truly put your heart and mind to it,” Peña said.
