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Beyond the Arc: Another record in sight for Bronwyne Mellott


Monday night, McConnellsburg's Bronwyne Mellott added her name to a short list of Franklin-Fulton girls basketball players who reached 2,000 points in their career - and is inching closer to another career milestone.

Mellott is on the hunt for the school's all-time scoring record, a mark held by Marla McElhaney since before Mellott was born. The magic number is 2,281. Mellott is inching closer with 238 points to go and seven regular season games remaining. If she surpasses McElhaney's record, Mellott will hold every McConnellsburg scoring record, including single-game record, 46, broken in December 2015.

But with the all-time scoring record in her mind, another goal is at the forefront for Mellott and the Spartans - a District 5 Class 2A championship.

"Our ultimate goal as a team is a district championship, and that's her ultimate goal, too - but if that title goes down, she's OK with that," McConnellsburg coach Brent Seville said. "Not having the Forbes Road games (forfeits) is going to hurt us. She's averaging about 26 points per game, and without those two games it's taking away 52 points, but I still think it will be achievable."

In district rankings as of Monday, McConnellsburg is ranked second in District 5 2A right behind Tussey Mountain. The top six teams qualify for the district tournament, with the two teams who appear in the district championship game moving on to the PIAA tournament.

Thankfully for Mellott, the team has come together since the first half of the season, utilizing other scoring threats to take the pressure off of Mellott, who will be an obvious target for defenses in the postseason.

"Lately we've been playing more like a team," Mellott said. "We need everyone to contribute in some way or another, especially scoring. Last year we didn't have that much until the end of the season. Having them doesn't allow teams to double and triple team me."

Justice Seville, McKenzie Gelvin and Kellyn Perry have also contributed double-figure performances this season to compliment Mellott's scoring power.

Another record? Greencastle-Antrim's Jenay Faulkner has re-written nearly every Blue Devil record this season. First, she surpassed the girls record, and last week broke the school's all-time record of 1,420.

Wednesday, Faulkner may have etched her name atop another list - the single game scoring record. The team could not confirm what the previous single game scoring record was at Greencastle-Antrim, but all signs point to Faulkner's 38-point explosion as the new standard.

Southern Fulton's Olivia Mottern is 60 points away from breaking the Indians' all-time scoring record. She could possibly break the mark against McConnellsburg at home next Thursday.

District 3 rankings: With less than two weeks left before the District 3 cutoff date, one Franklin County girls basketball team is safely tucked away in a district qualifying spot, while two other teams will battle to move up in the rankings.

Greencastle-Antrim is safe as the No. 9 team in District 3 Class 5A, while Shippensburg is teetering on a playoff spot, sitting in 17th with the top 16 teams making it to the postseason. Shippensburg will play four games before the district cutoff date.

In 6A, despite Waynesboro's 10-6 record, the Maidens are three spots out of a playoff spot, sitting at 15th thanks to one of the lowest opponent weighted win percentages in the classification.