One in a series on top high school athletes in the WPIAL and City League.
Corinne Washington scored only 11 points in Quaker Valley’s season-opening 48-40 loss to Penn Hills before the start of the PIAA’s three-week shutdown, but it was still a night to remember for the standout senior.
With her first bucket of the game, a mid-range pull-up jumper from about 15 feet out, Washington became the WPIAL’s newest member of the 1,000-point club. It didn’t create the same sense of euphoria it would have in a packed gym in front of her home fans, but Quakers coach Tom Demko made sure Washington took the time to savor the moment.
“I called timeout and we celebrated quickly in the huddle,” Demko said. “I told the girls that I was going to do that. And it was special.”
Washington, a 5-11 guard-forward, isn’t the first member of her family to reach the milestone. Her older brother, Coletrane, scored more than 1,500 points at Quaker Valley from 2014-18 and is now a junior shooting guard at Drexel.
“I really kind of don’t focus on the points. I’d rather win than score my 1,000th point,” Washington said. “So it was a little bit disappointing, but it was a good milestone to reach, and I’m glad that I did. I always told my brother I wanted to score more points than him in high school.”
Surpassing Coletrane’s career total would have been a tall task for Washington to begin with, but the likelihood of a shortened season following the shutdown will make it nearly impossible.
Whether she catches her brother or not, though, she won’t have to worry about following in his footsteps at the next level. Washington has committed to play at Boston University, making her the third Division I basketball player in her family. Her father, Jesse Washington, played college basketball at Yale and is now a senior writer for ESPN’s The Undefeated.
Needless to say, Washington never had to search far to find capable practice partners.
“I always play my dad one-on-one,” Washington said. “I’ll play him and my brother in full-court ‘21.’ He’ll let me beat him sometimes, and other times he’ll go all-out. But if he’s really tired, I can beat him.
“I guess playing against my dad and my brother kind of prepared me for the strength and athleticism [in high school]. … Not to be rude to my dad or anything like that — he’s not as quick as he used to be, so sometimes girls’ quickness kind of surprises him.”
A tough, hard-nosed player with a knack for defending, rebounding and finding her way to the basket, Washington has been a model of consistency since arriving at Quaker Valley.
As a sophomore, Washington averaged 15.4 points per game and received all-section honors after helping the Quakers reach the postseason for the first time in six years. Washington then raised her average to 18 points a game as a junior while leading Quaker Valley to a 17-7 record and a second consecutive playoff appearance. The Quakers once again advanced to the second round before losing to eventual WPIAL champion North Catholic, 47-31.
“She’s stepped up in many big games these last couple years, and played against some of the best players from the other teams and has come out on top,” Demko said. “She kind of elevates her game sometimes, depending on the competition.”
After witnessing all the success her brother had at Quaker Valley — Coletrane went 92-20 during his high school career — Washington has taken it upon herself to elevate the girls program into a perennial playoff contender. And with fellow seniors Bailey Garbee and Claire Kuzma helping Washington lead the charge, this may be the Quakers’ best chance yet to make a run at their first WPIAL title.
“I really want to make sure that my last season is the best season,” Washington said. “There are some pretty tough losses that we’ve faced over the years, and I feel like this is finally the year in which we can really beat some of those teams that we’ve consistently lost to.
“We’ve actually really worked hard, and it would be nice to kind of see that and all those years of work and make something of it and put a banner in our gym. And we have a pretty good chance this year, too.”
Steve Rotstein: srotstein@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SteveRotstein.
First Published: December 30, 2020, 11:15 a.m.
