John Bohnenkamp for Pen City Current Sports
FORT MADISON - Camille Kruse knew the significance of 1,000 career points.
“All my hard work paid off,” the Fort Madison High School senior said after Friday’s 55-24 win over Burlington.
Kruse became the first player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark, and she did it on the Bloodhounds’ Senior Night.
“It’s crazy,” Kruse said, who also became the program’s all-time leading rebounder in the first quarter.
Kruse needed 17 points to reach the milestone, and that’s what she got on a night the Bloodhounds (15-6 overall, 8-2 Southeast Conference) dominated the Grayhounds (4-14, 2-6).
Kruse scored the historic points on a drive to the basket with 6:01 left in the game. Fort Madison coach Toni Sargent immediately called a timeout so the moment could be celebrated.
“She’s worked so hard in the program,” Sargent said. “She’s put in a lot of hard work, coming in and getting up shots on her own time.
“She’s such a great team player. All the records she has — steals, assists, rebounds. You name it and she can do it.”
“Just playing with my teammates, and hearing the crowd with everyone cheering, and it being almost our last home game, it just means a lot,” Kruse said. “All of the support everyone has given me, and my teammates, it’s a great feeling.”
The game was never in doubt. Fort Madison led 24-5 at the end of the first quarter and 34-8 at halftime.
The only question was when Kruse would reach the milestone, and that might have accounted for the Bloodhounds getting out of rhythm in the second half, Sargent said.
“We probably put a lot of pressure on her, too, because we knew and she knew how many points she needed to get,” Sargent said. “That’s been kind of the hype the last few games. When we’re hyping it up, it seems like we’re trying too hard to make something happen.”
Kruse was relieved when it finally happened.
“I was like, ‘Thank God,’” she said, laughing. “But I was just trying to play basketball. That's my first priority. I just want to win. I can get those points either like today or I could get it on Wednesday (when the Bloodhounds open the Class 4A regional tournament). I just want to win. That's my first priority.
“I’ve had such good people to train with and work with, and they’ve just made me the player I am today.”
Freshman Dayonna Davis added 16 points for the Bloodhounds.
It was the final regular-season home game for Kruse and fellow senior Molly Knipe — the Bloodhounds open regional play at home against Mount Pleasant on Wednesday — and Sargent got emotional when talking about what the two had meant to the program.
“I’m going to miss these two seniors,” she said, tears welling in her eyes. “They were here when I started. And they’ll mean more to me than they’ll ever know.
“The girls don’t care who scores or who does what. They all work well together. The seniors said it, it was a drama-free season. Everyone steps up when they need to.”
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