On Tuesday January 17th, Varsity Basketball player Elena Arriaga reached her goal by shooting her 1,ooo points. Two minutes into the game, Sahuaro Vs. Sunnyside,  she perfectly aimed a 3-shotter, getting the crowd on their feet and cheering for Arriaga’s 1,000th point. The referees called a time-out and the announcer called out she just scored 1,000 points. Her teammates gathered around her with high -fives, back slaps, and cheers, celebrating her big accomplishment.

Elena has been playing basketball since elementary school around third grade. As a freshman, she started playing on the varsity team.

Arriaga knows this is a huge accomplishment for her and she is very honored to reach it. Only 8 players in the history of the program have been able to reach 1,000 points. When asked why reaching 1,000 points was so important to her, she said, ” It was sophomore year, my teammate Sydney Harden had reached 1,000 points. I knew at that moment I was going to reach 1,000 by the end of senior year. This was a huge goal for me.”

Elena plans on still playing basketball beyond high school. She is looking for college coaches and getting a scholarship in basketball.

How she achieved her goal is she put in a lot more work. She worked hard and came to practices. When asked how her coach felt he replied, ” Elena has been a varsity starter for four years at Sahuaro and is a terrific leader. Her hard work has certainly paid off as she is getting recruited from colleges. Scoring 1000 points is such a milestone. She is only the 8th player in school history to score 1000 points. She has definitely left her mark on this basketball program and she is wonderful to coach.”