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A long road to 1,000 points for Danvers' Sherry

Friday, February, 01 By Matt Jenkins
Staff writer

It wasn't the type of follow-up game Danvers' Danielle Sherry was looking for, but not even a heart-breaking overtime loss to Lynn English could take away the magic Sherry felt after reaching 1,000 points a game earlier.

Sherry came into the season knowing 1,000 points was a strong possibility, but she never really wanted to think about it. Of course the senior guard cut the margin down to eight points just before exam week, giving her a full week without games to think about the milestone.

"I was so nervous the whole week before because a lot of people were expecting me to do it," Sherry said Tuesday night after fouling out with only six points against the Bulldogs. "I didn't want to go out and not have it happen. Coach (Pat Veilleux) calmed me down and told me to treat it like any other game. I ended up getting going in the first quarter, which was good because it was a load off my shoulders."

Sherry got it done in the first quarter, reaching the mark at the free throw line.

The game was stopped even though it was held at Classical and Sherry was mobbed by her teammates before getting a picture taken with her parents, her brother P.J. and little sister Casey.

Sherry has been able to reach the mark despite being Danvers main scorer all four years | and getting the defensive attention that goes along with that.

Even as a freshman, Sherry was counted on to be a scorer. Naturally, opponents started loading up defenses just to stop her. But no one has been able to.

Sherry, who can't remember when basketball wasn't part of her life, credits all the points to her teammates, something that doesn't surprise her coach.

"She's very unselfish. She could score more and her teammates understand how unselfish she is," Veilleux said. "I was watching her as a freshman and sophomore and there was something in her that you don't see very often."

Sherry can score from a variety of ways. She has 3-point range, can take it to the hoop, and gets to the free throw line. More importantly, according to Veilleux, she has made dramatic improvements with her passing and defense in the past two seasons.

"There were times she tried to do too much (as a freshman and sophomore). When I took over as coach (last year) one of the first things I did was change her to play without the ball in her hands. She used to bring it up against the pressure. She was running the show and trying to score," Veilleux said. "She's become a very well-rounded player and she's a great kid."

Sherry's No. 1 goal for the rest of the season is to get Danvers more wins to improve its tournament stock, but Sherry will likely become the top scorer in Danvers High history.

Lindsey Wight scored 1,059 points in her career, and Sherry already has 1,020.

Moving into the top spot is not a big concern for the unselfish Sherry right now.

"It's exciting, but I don't know," Sherry said. "Whatever happens happens. I'll go with it."