January 8, 2010

     MERIDEN - Platt junior guard Damika Martinez entered Friday night's CCC South game against Bulkeley needing just 26 points to reach 1,000 for her career.
     The fact that she scored 27 basically on one leg in the Panthers' 62-27 blowout made the accomplishment all the more impressive.
     "Nothing Damika does surprises me," Platt coach Tom Johnson said. "I've had five 1,000-point scorers and I've never had someone come up this quickly and do what she's done so fast. She's amazing with the basketball."
     The evening did not start well for Martinez, who made just one shot in her first six attempts. She ended the opening quarter with five points.
     "I think she might have been a little bit tight," Johnson said. "She knew what was coming."
     Martinez's seventh point of the game came with a price. She converted a lay-in off a steal and feed from Joboa Davis to make the score 16-6 at the 7:18 mark of the second quarter, but Martinez sprained her right ankle and crumpled to the floor in pain.
     Martinez was taped by the Platt trainer and returned 3:18 later with a noticeable limp.
     "She was hobbled for most of the game," Johnson said. "When she went out, the other kids played great. I was really proud of them."
     Martinez had nine points at halftime, while Elisa Plaza held down the fort by scoring 11 of her 17 points in the opening half.
     "We had to pick up the scoring and hope that Damika could recover," Plaza said. "I knew Mika was going to return. She's a tough player. I'm really excited that she got 1,000 points."
     The Panther essentially put the game out of reach in the third quarter, when they outscored the winless Bulldogs 16-2.
     Martinez entered the fourth quarter with 15 points. She made five of six shots in the final frame, including a 3-pointer from the corner with four minutes remaining to give her 27 for the game and 1,001 for her career.
     The contest was stopped and Martinez was presented with flowers and a bouquet of blue and gold balloons. She received a standing ovation, a hug from her mother and returned to the game. Johnson took her out for good 26 seconds later to another standing ovation.
     "It feels real good, but without my teammates stepping up when I was hurt we might not have won," Martinez said. "I want to thank them for stepping up. I just had to toughen up and play through the injury. If I hit (1,000), I hit it. If I didn't, I didn't. I just always come to play. Playing is the thing I like to do. Scoring is just one of my things that I'm good at."
     Later, Johnson cleared his entire bench and freshmen Talisha Martinez and Marisa Costello reached milestones, too. The both scored their first varsity points. Talisha and her identical twin sister Talaya, who also saw action Friday, are Damika's siblings.
     Big sis became the fifth Platt girl to reach the 1,000-point plateau, joining Kim Penwell, Kelly Penwell, Tina Gonyea and Mallorie Michalak. Kelly Penwell (1,472) is the all-time leading scorer, although Martinez is the first player to hit the 1,000 mark in her junior season.
     "That's something I'm proud of and I just want to keep on going," said Martinez, who is garnering attention from several colleges. "I'm not really worried about that right now. I'm just a junior. I'll wait until my senior year to handle those things."
     Tanesha Beasley finished with 14 points for Platt, which improved to 7-2 overall and 2-2 in the South. Plaza also ripped down 12 rebounds in the game.
     "Elisa is stepping up big time," Martinez said. "Beasley is stepping up. Joboa is stepping up on defense. Everybody has their own part and their doing it this year."
     Bulkeley, which got 15 points from Priscilla Rosa, dropped to 0-9 overall and 0-4 in the division.