After taking hundreds of photos with friends and family with the 1,000-point balloons and cookies following the comeback win over Osceola, Ellsworth junior Molly Janke had a chance to reflect on joining elite company in the 1,000-point club, especially as a junior.

“Having my family here is the best part,” Janke said amid the postgame celebration. “To have it happen when my older brother is home is one of the best feelings. He’s always been one of my biggest supporters and has always been a role model. All my grandparents and aunts and uncles drove – some of them over an hour – to be here. This was just an awesome night. I’m so grateful everyone was here to be with me.”

Janke led all scorers with 23 points in the 64-55 win over Osceola on Friday, Jan. 6. She officially crossed the 1,000 career point threshold with a made free throw midway through the first half. In keeping with tradition, play stopped and Janke received the game ball as she hugged her dad, head coach Jason Janke, near the scorers’ table in celebration of the milestone.

Molly Janke becomes the third Ellsworth Panther in the last five years to cross the 1,000-point threshold, joining Kaitlyn Nugent from the class of 2020 and Autumn Eamey in 2021. While Janke only played one season with Eamey, her freshman campaign of 2020-21, she learned how to play efficient basketball up close and personal with one of the best players in program history.

Although Janke never shared the floor with Nugent, she was around the program and observed her work ethic and commitment to excellence regularly. Janke spoke about watching two other plays cross the 1,000-point threshold and how it shaped what became her experience a couple of years later. “Autumn Earney was a great role model for me on and off the court,” Janke said. “Just playing with her, even for one year, a lot of the attention was on her so it let me score a little bit in my own way. Her and Kaitlyn Nugent, being able to watch them growing up was huge for me. To see two other girls score 1,000 was really cool. All of my teammates are my best friends, it’s great to do it with them.”

While Janke certainly was happy to cross the 1,000-point mark and cement herself as one of the best scorers in Ellsworth history, she was more concerned with mounting a comeback and securing a win against the Osceola Chieftains.

Ellsworth trailed 35-28 going into the halftime intermission, in large part because of Osceola’s success on the glass which led to multiple second-chance opportunities. With just over 11 minutes to play in the second half, Ellsworth trailed 48-39.

That’s when Janke elevated her play to another level and took control of the game. It began with a running floater just inside the free throw line that brought the Panthers to within seven, 48-41. On the ensuing possession, Janke got into a passing lane, stole the ball and went coast-to-coast for a layup that cut the lead to five.

Ellsworth junior guard Maria Harrington forced another steal on the ensuing possession and quickly threw the outlet pass to Janke, who hit a wing three-pointer in transition that made it a twopoint game, 48-46, with 10 minutes to play in regulation.

Throughout the closing 10 minutes it seemed like every player on the roster made a big play that helped swing the game in Ellsworth’s favor. Whether it was Harrington’s late free throws or senior Ashlyn Townsend’s wing three-pointer that helped break a stalemate with just minutes to play, everyone contributed.

While Janke celebrated scoring her 1,000th career point for a few minutes in the first half, she spent the entire second half with her teammates finding a way to beat an Osceola team that had won five of its last six games going into Friday night. She spoke about staying locked in, even after the first-half celebration.

“When they stopped the game in the first half it was a little bit annoying because we were down and I didn’t want to give Osceola any more fuel,” Janke said with a little bit of a laugh. “I’m just so happy we won the game because it wouldn’t have been as good of a memory if we lost the conference game.”

After Osceola tied the game 52-52 with five minutes left in regulation, the Panthers outscored the Chieftains 12-3 the rest of the way to secure the 64-55 win. Janke led all players with 23 points, while also grabbing 13 rebounds, dishing out eight assists and grabbing two steals in the winning effort.

With the win, Ellsworth improved to 8-3 overall and 2-2 in Middle Border Conference play. After losing league play games to Somerset and Baldwin-Woodville, Ellsworth is back in the win column. Janke spoke about how the victory could get the team rolling into a pivotal stretch of the season.

“This win is huge for us because we’ve been on a downturn with tough losses to Somerset and Baldwin,” Janke said. “Being able to go 2-2 is huge for us. Beating a team with Hattie Fox is huge for our confidence and for Maria Harrington’s confidence to lock her down. We should know we can beat anyone in the conference.”

Ellsworth was back in action on Monday, Jan. 9, on the road against Hudson. That game was slated to begin at 7:15 p.m.

Ellsworth junior guard Molly Janke makes a driving layup in transition during Friday night’s game. Janke led all scorers with 23 points, the sixth of which officially made her a career 1,000-point scorer. Photo by Reagan Hoverman

Ellsworth junior Molly Janke gives her dad and head coach Jason Janke a big hug moments after being presented with the game ball for scoring her 1000th career point against Osceola on Friday, Jan. 6.Photo by Reaqan HovermanSee JANKE, Page B-4