‘You don’t get athletes like her too often.’ Le Grand star reaches career milestone
Alexa Ultreras scored on a layup in the second quarter and went to the Le Grand High bench after Bulldogs coach Dannon Graham called a timeout.
Ultreras had no clue why Graham was walking on the court to talk to the crowd instead of addressing his team.
“I was just thinking he called timeout to give us a break and let us regroup,” Ultreras said. “I thought it was weird he was walking out with a mic, and then I saw everyone clapping. I couldn’t hear him so I didn’t know what was going on.”
Feeling under the weather Friday, Ultreras was happy just to rest.
It was Ultreras’ teammates who finally told her to go out on the court.
Ultreras had just scored her 1,000th career point.
And Graham wanted Ultreras to savor the moment.
Ultreras, who went on to score 15 points to go along with seven rebounds, was presented with golden balloons following Le Grand’s 36-30 win over visiting Stone Ridge Christian on Friday night.
Teammates, friends and family — all aware Ultreras was closing in on 1,000 points — helped celebrate the occasion.
“I didn’t even know, and my whole family knew,” Ultreras said. “I knew I was up there. I thought I was around 900 or something. It was a surprise. That’s crazy. Coming into high school, I never would have thought I’d reach 1,000.”
Ultreras has been a prolific scorer for the Bulldogs since arriving on campus.
She scored 380 points in 21 games her freshman season and averaged 18.1 points per game. Then she followed with 466 points in 27 games for an average of 17.3 points as a sophomore last season.
Ultreras came in needing just eight points Friday against the Knights for the 1,000-point mark.
The milestone is pretty impressive considering Ultreras is also a standout volleyball and softball player at Le Grand.
“She does it all,” Graham said. “You don’t get athletes like her too often at a small school like Le Grand. Maybe at a school like Merced or Turlock. It doesn’t happen very often here.
“I coach football and I tell my guys she’s the best athlete at our school, boy or girl.”
It was Graham who texted Ultreras’ mother Karina to let the family know she was closing in the prestigious mark.
“Luckily, I calculated the points last night and found out she was eight points away,” he said. “We got lucky she didn’t score enough points the other night.”
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Ultreras has been consistent throughout her career. She’s scored at least double figures in 52 of her last 56 games.
“For her, it’s about hard work,” Graham said. “She puts in so much effort in practice.”
Ultreras joins the a 1,000-point club at Le Grand, which includes former players Jennifer Hansen and Miranda Flores.
“I have to thank my parents,” Ultreras said. “They’ve always encouraged me to do my best. They raised me to be determined and to fight for what I want.”
