Community Corner
Brooks Sets School Record for Career Points in Girls Basketball
It was obvious from the first day LaTondra Brooks stepped onto the Spartan Gymnasium floor that she was no ordinary girls’ basketball player. Even as a sophomore, she displayed dynamic moves and a hunger to put the ball in the basket. So three years later, it is no surprise that LaLa has eclipsed the 1,000 career-point mark and has set the Oak Lawn Community High School All-Time Record for Career Points.
Friday night in a South Suburban Conference crossover game against TF South, she entered with 1,231 career points, and Kathy Krzak’s record of 1,235 rested on the record board having not been touched since it was established in 1999. However, when Brooks buried a three-point basket in the first quarter to build a nearly insurmountable lead against the Rebels, LaLa had taken over sole control of the record. She went on to score 15 points in the game, and the Spartans cruised to victory.
“LaTondra has been a great addition to our program,” head girls basketball coach Janet Meyers said. “She has made everyone on the floor better players because of her unselfish passing and ability to make things happen on the court. She is very humble and her teammates respect her for that.”
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While the individual scoring record is a great accomplishment, even more impressive is the success the team as a whole has attained since Brooks joined the squad. In her three years at Oak Lawn, the Spartans won the SSC Red Championship last year, narrowly missed the title the year before, and they are in the driver’s seat to make it back-to-back titles so far this season. In fact, Oak Lawn has posted an overall record of 56-15 (counting Tuesday’s win over Argo) in the three years since Brooks’ arrival and a conference mark of 27-7. The Spartans are 17-1 overall and 7-1 in conference this year.
But it has not only been scoring for Brooks. When Meyers says that LaLa gets the other girls involved, she is not kidding. She has amassed 349 assists, and she has totaled 478 steals for her career.
