By Kyle LoJacono
Top girls basketball players usually celebrate scoring 1,000 career points sometime in their senior season, but Kelly McCaffrey is not one to waste time.
The Wiregrass Ranch junior put up her 1,000th in her junior season this year, the second ever in program history to reach that mark. The point that pushed her into quadruple digits was in a win against First Baptist Christian, when she scored 25 points.
“It was an awesome feeling,” McCaffrey said. “My goal from the start of the season was to get to 1,000.”
McCaffrey, who plays both forward and guard, currently sits at 1,016 career points, behind only Regan Knapik’s 1,098 in program history. She poured in a team-high 386 points, 15.4 per game, to help the Bulls go 16-10.
“It was a really special thing to see,” said Wiregrass Ranch coach Greg Finkel, the only coach in program history. “She’s been a really good scorer since she started with the team as a freshman.”
“Kelly has matured every year and this was her first as a team captain,” Finkel continued. “It was the first year we asked her to do a lot more than score. She has been very valuable to our team. The thing about her is she’s very quiet and slick about what she does out there. She has a big heart.
“Attacking the basket is all about the defense in front of you,” McCaffrey continued. “If it’s man-to-man, you have a good chance of getting past the defender. If it’s zone, I look more to pass or for a screen to get me clear. If I’m double-teamed then I’ll always dish it because I’ll have a teammate open.”
McCaffrey was already one of the top scorers for the Bulls last season, but she wanted to take her game to the next level. She worked to get stronger during the offseason to become a better rebounder.
“All my coaches said I need to go to the basket more, and I needed to get stronger to do that,” McCaffrey said. “I worked with a personal trainer and just put more of a focus on going for rebounds.”
The work seems to have paid off. McCaffrey pulled down 186 rebounds this season, more than twice the 70 she had last year. That was the second most for the Bulls. This offseason she plans to focus on her footwork to get quicker.
“She’s put in a lot of work to get better, but her parents should get some credit too,” Finkel said. “You can tell she’s had very good upbringing.”
McCaffrey’s passion for basketball started in the second grade. She grew up in Chicago, one of the nation’s hotbeds for the sport. She moved to Pasco County before her freshman year.
“In Chicago there is a lot more pressure because basketball is more popular there,” McCaffrey said. “It was great to play travel ball there with all the hype, but it’s also nice here where you can be a little more relaxed.”
Wiregrass Ranch had zero winning seasons in its first two, but has not known one below .500 since McCaffrey joined the squad for the 2008-09 school year. The Bulls have gone 59-24, winning 71 percent of their contests, the last three years.
Wiregrass Ranch has also made two regional tournament appearances as the Class 4A-District 8 runner-up in McCaffrey’s freshman and sophomore years, but has yet to win a playoff game.
McCaffrey played softball growing up as well and was a third baseman for the Bulls her freshman and sophomore years, but gave up the sport to focus on basketball this year.
“I want to play in college, so I decided it was best to focus on one and get as good as I can in basketball,” McCaffrey said.
McCaffrey said she is not sure what career she wants to go into yet, but is very interested in film. Right now she is just focusing on getting the Bulls back to regionals and beyond in her senior campaign next year.
“We want to win districts for the first time next year and get some wins in regions,” McCaffrey said. “I also want to get to 1,500 points, but I’d take a district championship over that.”
-All stats as recorded to Maxpreps.com by coaches.
