Junior forwards Dior Ford of the men’s basketball team and Jordan Sammons of the women’s team both reached the 1000 point milestone this season on top of many other accomplishments.

Last Wednesday, Feb. 19, at Hutton Arena there was a ceremony for Ford to celebrate his achievement of breaking the 1000 point mark. Ford recorded his 1000 point the game prior, at St. Olaf on February 15.

The night he was honored against St. Mary’s, Ford scored the game high of 28 points to lead his team to a 69-60 victory to snap the team’s six game losing streak. That game also marked the most points Ford scored in a conference game.

Ford is now 12th on the all-time scoring list for the Pipers; he trails the 11th spot by only 20 points.

Sammons finished the season placing seventh in school history for most points in a season. In her final game last Saturday, Feb. 23, she scored 16 points and that was enough for her to move up to sixth place on the all-time list.

Sammons joined the 1000 point club last month on January 15 at Hutton Arena. In the second half against St. Mary’s, Sammons was isolated one on one against a defender. She scored off of a layup and was sent to the free throw line. On her way to the line the PA announcer announced that she had entered the 1000th point club.

“The gym exploded with noise from my teammates and parents and fans,” Sammons said. “I was [grateful] it happened at Hutton Arena. I felt all the support from everyone in that moment.”

This season Sammons started out strong with a 35 point performance in the season opener where she hit five three-pointers, which was more three’s than she scored in the entire season before. She was honored with the MIAC Women’s Basketball Athlete of the Week for her effort.

The next game she scored 30 points.

Sammons stayed consistent throughout the season and finished as the MIAC conference leader in points per game with 21.3 and most points this season with 533.

Sammons was a productive player last year, but this year improved to become the top scorer of the conference and arguably the best all-around player in the MIAC. Sammons attributed her success to two things.

“I think a lot of it was my teammates support and the way they encourage me to be the best I can be day in and day out,” Sammons said. “Also, I improved my outside shooting game over the summer which [created] more opportunities for me on offense.”

Sammons is 380 points away from being the all-time leader in school history. She places fourth in steals and sixth in rebounds. Another strong season next year could statistically put her at the top of the leader board and in consideration as the greatest player to ever play women’s basketball at Hamline University.

Sammons acknowledge she is honored to see her name in the record books, but winning games takes the cake.

“Records to me aren’t as important as wins. I would much rather win a game and score nothing than lose and break records,” she said. “I am happy with what I’ve accomplished but I won’t think about it until my career is over.”

She says her focus in the offseason will be to improve to help her team win. She wants to become an even better player on the perimeter, work on left-hand coordination, and play smarter defense to avoid fouls.

“My biggest hope for next year is to make the MIAC Playoffs like we did my sophomore year. I want that more than any individual records,” Sammons said.