WESTFIELD — Melissa Gray came just 24 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point plateau during her high school basketball career at Peabody High.
Now at Westfield State, the junior forward reached the career milestone with a 37-point performance in Thursday’s 106-76 win over MASCAC rival Fitchburg State. Gray netted a school-record 10 3-pointers in the victory.
“It feels amazing,” Gray, the 18th women’s basketball player in school history to reach the mark, said. “I actually didn’t know I was that close in high school. I wasn’t aware until after. Getting it done in college feels amazing, especially with all the support from my coaches and teammates. It feels awesome.”
As a true team player would, Gray admitted her sole focus was on helping the Owls grab a conference win.
“I knew it was going to come eventually so I didn’t focus too much on it,” Gray said.
Gray leads the Owls in scoring at 18.1 points per game. Her 3-point shooting has played a major part in her success on the offensive end of the court. As a freshman two years ago, Gray shot 27.1 percent from beyond the arc. Through 15 games this winter, all starts, she’s shooting 34.6 percent.
“I definitely worked on shooting more so off the dribble,” Gray, a communications major, said. “I feel that I was known for being more of a catch-and-shoot shooter. I’ve worked a lot on my stepback and shooting off the dribble, and that definitely helped.”
Confidence is also key, she said.
“It all comes down to just trusting my shot,” Gray said. “My coaches and teammates always encourage me to keep shooting. Once I’m in my rhythm, I feel really confident about my shot which makes me knock them down more.”
At Peabody, Gray was a 4-year varsity player and spent three seasons under the direction of current Tanners coach Stan McKeen. Gray’s success on the college court is no surprise to McKeen.
“Melissa was instant offense, without question,” McKeen said. “She’s just a pure shooter. If she wasn’t hitting, she’d continue to shoot. Most players stop putting shots up if they aren’t hitting. She was also great defensively. She was able to anticipate passes. She was a great kid, very coachable. She was a phenomenal, phenomenal player.”
From the early stages of her Peabody career, McKeen knew Gray had the necessary work ethic to elevate her game.
“I remember the year I took over (as head coach at Peabody), I was with my grandkids at Emerson Park in Peabody,” McKeen said. “I noticed a girl over in the basketball court just shooting, shooting, shooting. It was Melissa. That’s why she got to where she is. She worked hard. I can’t say enough good things about her.”
With Thursday’s win, the Owls sit at 5-10 on the season. Westfield State won its first three games, then dipped into a 10-game slide before finding the win column over the last two contests. The bright side is Westfield State’s 2-1 in MASCAC play with the bulk of its conference schedule ahead.
“I feel like we’ve come a long way since the beginning,” Gray said. “We have a very young team this year so we’ve been trying to figure it out and come together. We played a tough schedule before diving into the league schedule. That definitely helped us get ready for MASCAC. I think we’re in a great spot right now, coming together as a team. I think that’s definitely going to help us in the league this year.”
