(Enlarge) Shantrel Oliver is the sixth River Hill girl to score 1,000 points. (File photo/2009)

On the schedule, it was the Hammond-River Hill game. On the court, it was the Shantrel Oliver show.

The River Hill senior scored a career-high 35 points in leading her team to a 67-53 victory Dec. 16.

"Shantrel definitely had a hot shooting night tonight," said Hammond coach Raymona Reid.

The game was stopped after Oliver's first basket so she could be recognized for scoring her 1,000th career point, a milestone she'd passed in the previous game which was at Reservoir.

"Shantrel's a scoring machine. She can score at will," River Hill coach Teresa Waters said.

Oliver, who played her first two years at Wilde Lake, has become the sixth River Hill girl to score 1,000 points. Keisha Eaddy (1,680), Greeba Barlow (1,233), Brittany Gordon (1,224), Keiko Tate (1,105) and Laura Hostetler (1,015) have also reached that plateau.

Oliver said her main motivation for scoring 1,000 points was because her mother had also done it.

But Cheryl Oliver, a 1982 graduate of Atholton, set the record straight. Her forte was making steals, not getting points. Her Atholton career record for steals was broken just a few years ago, she said.

Her daughter also has quick hands. She had 10 steals against Hammond.

Guard play is important for River Hill this year. The Hawks had both guards and forwards a year ago when they finished second in the state.

"We knew we didn't have our 'bigs' this year so we knew our guards had to step up," Shantrel Oliver said.

Last Wednesday's game, in fact, came down to River Hill's guards vs. Hammond's big girls. The Golden Bears have a trio of tall players.

Hammond's Brandone Roberts (6-foot-3) had 18 points. Ellen Johnson (5-11) had 12 and Kelsie Hitesman (6-0) accounted for five more. Guard Simone Wise had 12.

Morgan Moats (nine) and Nikki Piper (eight) backed Oliver's scoring effort.

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