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Photo by Bill Darrah
‘GRAND’ evening
Chante Markus hits 1,000-pt. milestone
by Aidan E. Bauernschmidt
Press And Journal Staff
: 2/3/2010
Chante Markus, a Lower Dauphin High School senior, scored the 1,000th point of her high school basketball career Wednesday in a 60-24 drubbing of the Palmyra Area Cougars.
She went into that game with 990 points and everyone in the stands knew it was only a mater of minutes before she would reach the milestone.
“I was so nervous,” Markus said. “I knew that if I didn’t get it, I was going to let everyone down.”
When Markus got the ball, the crowd cheered. When she missed a shot, it groaned.
“[The game] was close until halftime, and then we pulled out and went for a run,” she said.
Markus went for a run too, finally rewarding the crowd with her 1,000th point in the final 55 seconds of the game.
“It was my first priority to win, and my second to score the point,” she said, “Because Wednesday was going to determine where we went in the post season.”
Luckily, she got to achieve both goals.
Chante, a native of Middletown, began playing basketball and softball as a second grader. She displayed great talent from the beginning, and has followed both sports into high school.
“She always played up with the older girls,” Chante’s mother Michelle Markus said of her daughter. “That skill just translated into high school.”
Indeed, Lower Dauphin Senior High School noticed her talents right away, and Markus was drafted to the varsity team as a freshman.
Michelle Markus said that she has never missed one of her daughter’s games, a tradition she’ll miss when Chante leaves for college. She was awarded a full scholarship to Carson-Newman College, in Jefferson City, Tenn.
“It’ll be hard because we just can’t hop in the car to see her play anymore,” Michelle Markus said. “Now we’ll have to plan a trip every time.”
However, Chante’s attendance at Carson-Newman will bring her basketball career full circle in a unique way, her mother said.
“When she was in middle school she played for the Eagles, and right now she plays for the Falcons. And once she goes to Carson-Newman, she’ll be an Eagle again,” Michelle Markus said.
Assistant coach Steve Day helped Chante with her college search, but said that it was Chante who “sold herself.”
“She’s very solid skillwise, and she doesn’t get rattled,” he said. “And whenever a recruiter called to speak to her, she was always off at the gym or at practice; she wasn’t just sitting around at home.”
Head coach Bob Heusser agreed. “How many players her height are as good as she is? Real players are made with self-motivation, and she’s done that.”
“If we go anywhere in the post season, it will be because of her,” Heusser said.
“She’s barely 5 foot 3, but she’s strong and fast,” Michelle Markus added. “And she’s very dedicated.”
According to her mother, Markus comes from a family of athletes. Her mother was a cheerleader. Dad, Steven, spent 25 years as a bodybuilder, and older brother Brandon was a running back at Slippery Rock University 10 years ago.
Chante cited her older brother as her biggest influence and inspiration. “He’s always been pushing me, and he’s helped me with pretty much everything I’ve done so far,” she said. Chante also said that her brother was a big help during the recruiting process, having had his own collegiate athletic experience.
Chante is sure she would not be as successful without the support of her family and friends, including best friend and senior teammate Lahrsen Harper, who plays forward for the Falcons. The Falcons themselves are a source of Chante’s success as well.
“The team all gets along very well,” Michelle Markus said. “Before Wednesday’s game, the girls all made 1,000-point T-shirts.”
Chante is also involved with Sand Beach Basketball, an organization that pairs older basketball girls with younger players. Founded in 1999, the organization provides competitive and recreational basketball opportunities for girls in kindergarten through the sixth grade. More information can be found at sandbeachbasketball.com.
Chante continues to rack up the points, with a total of 1,011 before Saturday’s game against York Central.
“She’s enjoying the benefits of her hard work,” Day said.
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