Neshaminy’s Kristin Curley aims to end her high school hoops career with a celebration

As the girls’ basketball season winds down, Neshaminy senior point guard Kristin Curley is going to be staring into the face of reality.

After starring as a forward for the soccer team in the fall and the basketball team in the winter, Curley has made a decision that perhaps not many players her age with her athletic success would be able to make. She is leaving sports behind.

Curley, who has an eye toward perhaps becoming a lawyer, is looking to major in either political science or criminal justice. She has narrowed her search to St. Joseph’s, Temple, and the University of Pittsburgh.

“I think I’m definitely going to miss it a lot,” Curley said of her sports career. “I’ve been playing my whole life, so it’s going to be weird to not have all the practices after school or early morning Saturday games. I’m definitely going to miss it. I’m going to miss the whole team thing. It’s going to be different. It’s going to be very sad to leave soccer and basketball behind.”

Curley is talented enough to draw interest from colleges that would like to get her to commit to their program. She was drawing interest in the fall while she was scoring seven goals for the soccer team, and Catholic University has expressed interest in her for basketball. She is averaging 13.8 points per game this winter and scored the 1,000th point of her career on Thursday against Pennsbury.

But sports do not define Curley. She is in the top 50 in her senior class, a member of the National Honor Society and participates in student council. Moving on to concentrate on academics should not be a problem for her.

However, there are some things that she would like to take care of before hanging up her sneakers.

The Redskins clinched at least a tie for the Suburban One National Conference title last Friday night when they handled host William Tennent, 67-20. Curley and her teammates, however, lost to Pennsbury on Thursday and tied with the Falcons for the conference title.

Neshaminy beat the Falcons on Jan. 14, when they won, 44-42, on an Olivia Scotti layup. Curley had the assist on Scotti’s game-winner. The Redskins had won the last three National Conference crowns.

“Right now, we’re all incredibly excited,” Curley said before the Pennsbury game. "Knowing that it could be the last time ever that some of us are playing basketball, I think that definitely makes things more intense, makes things more exciting.”

So, while she is saying goodbye to sports, she would like one more shot at glory in the playoffs.

“It’s definitely a sad time," Curley said. "But it’s what we do to make the most of it. So everything’s in our hands right now. We control how far we go. We control what kind of effort we bring to each game, each practice. I think it’s cool that everything is within us right now. I think that is a very cool feeling to have.”