By Gary Curreri
Sun Sentinel Correspondent
Feb 04, 2022 1:22 PM
Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Sun Sentinel.
Spanish River High School senior Aly Avrach with her team after getting her 1,000th career point. The Sharks will try and win a second straight district title as Avrach hopes to reach 1,500 points. They are, from left, front row, Morgan Sternlieb, Sophie Levine, Aly Avrach, Helen Jensen, Juliana Enciso, Mya Quinn and Jana Soueid; from left, back row, A.J. Pacitti, Coach Chris Mackay, Natali Dominguez, Sydney Blue, Aris McCray, Charity Harness and Coach Misty Avrach. (Aly Avrach/Courtesy/Contributor)
Spanish River High School senior Aly Avrach is closing in on 1,500 career points.
The 18-year-old Bellarmine University commit is the Sharks all-time leading scorer and is one of just three girls’ basketball players to top the 1,000-point mark. The others are Olivia Svendsen (2015-19) who scored 1,058 points and Emily Rosenstein (2010-14) who bagged 1,008 points.
Avrach, of Boca Raton, stands at 1,427 points after the team’s 76-23 win over Monarch in the district tournament. Behind Avrach and six other seniors, Spanish River (15-3) is looking for a second straight district title and to go deeper in the postseason than it ever has before.
“As a basketball player that grew up focused on the fundamentals of the game, I always saw myself as an all-around player,” said Avrach, who also excels in the classroom as the student government president, sporting a 4.0 GPA. She is also in the National Honor Society.
Spanish River High School senior Aly Avrach, with her coach Chris Mackay, hopes to reach 1,500 career points. (Aly Avrach/Courtesy)
“When it was brought to my attention by my coach that I was closing in on that (1,000-point) milestone, I could honestly say it was very exciting to me,” she said. “The thought of becoming one of only three girls to reach this milestone made me feel honored to be a part of this elite group.”
Hitting the 1,500-point mark is something she is hopeful for but more important is a second consecutive district title, especially since it is against Deerfield Beach, who ended the Sharks season last year in the first round of regionals.
“(Getting) 1,500 points would be an amazing accomplishment, but winning two district championships and making a state run is something that every little girl dreams of and I hope we can make that happen this year for Spanish River,” Avrach said. “I also feel like people solely focus on me as an offensive player, but I am also averaging eight rebounds a game. Being only 5 feet 7 inches [tall], I feel like that really shows how multi-dimensional of a player I am.”
Spanish River reached the regional quarterfinals in 2002, 2015 and last season before bowing out.
