By: Samantha Bonifas
Abbie Skupa has dedicated herself to basketball since she was in third grade. On Monday, February 3, she made a post move in the first round of the Twin Valley Conference Tournament against Red Cloud and scored to take over the Mustang career scoreboard. Abbie’s journey in basketball has been nothing but easy. The moment she started playing in third grade, she says she felt the thrill and rush of the sport. “Ever since I saw my sisters playing, I knew that I loved basketball and wanted to be just like them,” and then Abbie committed herself to the sport. Every opportunity to touch a basketball became special to her. Every season, every practice, every off-season, every minute, and every second became a chance to make herself better. In fifth grade, she started playing competitive club basketball. Throughout elementary and junior high she continued to improve. As a freshman, Skupa gained a lot of experience as the Lady Mustangs went through a building year. She was able to start and gain plenty of floor time. In the first year of her high school career, Abbie scored 234 points. As a sophomore, Abbie once again started. She became a leader for the Mustangs and scored 273 points. In her junior year, Abbie was a key player to the Mustangs as they improved their record of 4-17 from the previous year to 14-8. She scored 344 points as a junior. Abbie has made her last season her best season. As a senior, she has reached two goals that every high school athlete strives to meet. Previously this year she scored 1,000 points, making it the third time any Mustang basketball player has met the ambitious goal. She adds to her legacy by becoming the highest scoring Lady Mustang basketball player with a total of 1,173 points. She has also led her team to first place in the holiday classic tournament, second in the conference tournament, and a 15-4 record so far. She averages 14.1 points in all of her career. However, this is not the end of Abbie’s high school career. In her senior year, she’s scored 322 points, but she is not stopping yet. She plans to take the team to state and bring a championship back to Silver Lake. Her legacy at Silver Lake will never be forgotten. Her hardwork and dedication to academics and basketball is remarkable, and she has inspired many in Mustang country to be their best. Silver Lake is extremely proud of Abbie in all that she has done and continues to do.
