Area high school players who achieved 1,000-point milestone this year

Neshaminy senior Nate Townsend saw his high school career come to a bittersweet end two weeks ago. He entered the opening round of the district boys’ basketball playoffs against Conestoga needing 10 points to join the 1,000-point club.

He got there, scoring 10 of his team’s points in a 53-19 loss that ended its season.

“It was mixed emotions,” Townsend said.

While the merits of his achievement didn’t quite hit Townsend right away, an achievement award from state senator Frank Farry last week helped put the accomplishment into focus.

He’s the sixth player in the program’s 74-year history to achieve the milestone.

“I’m really proud of myself and blessed to have everyone in my corner as well,” Townsend said.

Townsend started his high school career at Conwell-Egan, where he scored 26 points as a freshman. The rest of his buckets came at Neshaminy.

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Townsend led the team in scoring the past two seasons, earning first team All-SOL Patriot honors back-to-back years. He’ll continue his basketball career at Penn State-Harrisburg next season.

“Definitely just the IQ part of the game,” Townsend said about what stuck out to the PSU-Harrisburg coaches. “My perspective, I’m really smart about the game, knowing where the ball needs to go, knowing the plays, being the leader on the court.”

Academy New Church senior Xola Wade had another big year, averaging 18.6 points, 3.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.3 steals. She also made history in the process.

Wade finished her high school girls’ basketball career with 1,064 points, the most in program history. She became the first ANC player to reach the 1,000 milestone against Abington Friends on Jan. 30, the second to last game of the regular season.

“It became a goal this year,” said Wade, a 5-foot-6 guard. “It was very exciting. I didn’t think I was going to reach it that game yet, so it was a surprise.”

Wade has been the team’s go-to player since her sophomore campaign. Led by Wade, ANC went 16-6 and finished third in the Friends Schools League this season, highlighted by an upset win over George School.

“I’ve kind of always been a scorer,” Wade said. “I just got more confident in what I do, so it grew through the years.”

More than 70 girls’ and boys’ basketball players in the area surpassed 1,000 points. Here’s a complete list of those that joined the club this year:

* Accomplished last season

This story was produced as part of a partnership between The Inquirer and City of Basketball Love, a nonprofit news organization that covers high school and college basketball in the Philadelphia area while also helping mentor the next generation of sportswriters. This collaboration will help boost coverage of the city’s vibrant amateur basketball scene, from the high school ranks up through the Big 5 and beyond.