RIMERSBURG — When rattling off the titanic figures in the rich history of the Union High girls basketball program, the name Tina Lipps is rarely mentioned.

The names of Bethany Koch, Andrea Mortimer, Tiffany Corle, Jill and Joyce Wensel and Mary Jane and Rachel Eaton are often uttered.

But rarely does Lipps fall from the, um, lips.

That's about to change.

Lipps already has pushed her name into that elite group in much the same way she has conducted her business on the basketball court for four seasons: quietly.

“She's just consistent,” said Union girls basketball coach Josh Meeker. “Some other players have just erupted later in their careers, but Tina has put up numbers since her freshman season.”

In a home win against West Shamokin Saturday, Lipps became the 12th player in the program's 40-year history to reach 1,000 career points.

She's also amon the select few who have started every game of their career at the school.

“As a coach, I have all the confidence in the world in her,” Meeker said. “I like to tell the kids our offense goes through Tina. That doesn't mean she has to take every shot, but every time she touches the ball and the defense collapses on her and she finds the open player, she makes us better.”

Lipps leads the team in rebounds at more than 10 per game and is also near the top in assists per contest.

Lipps soon will join an even more elite group at the school: She is a 23 rebounds shy of 1,000 in her career.

Only three other players in the history of the program — Mary Jane Eaton, Jill Wensel and Joyce Wensel — have scored 1,000 points to go with 1,000 rebounds.

“That would definitely be a great accomplishment,” Lipps said. “I couldn't do any of it by myself. It just shows a lot of hard work is paying off.”

Lipps arrived as a freshman knowing a lot of hard work was needed.

Most of a group that had won 106 games and three District 9 Class A championships in four seasons had graduated, but the expectations were just as high.

The Damsels won 48 games in Lipps' first three seasons as a starter, but in the Union universe, that was deemed a mild disappointment.

This season, the Damsels are 13-2 behind Lipps and it appears they are poised to make another run at a district championship.

This season, though, has been bittersweet for Lipps.

On Christmas Eve, her grandmother, Rose Marie Lipps, died.

“It definitely puts things in perspective,” Lipps said. “I play with her in my heart.”

Lipps, who also played volleyball for Union, said she doesn't plan on playing either in college.

Instead, she will focus on another one of her loves: music. She can play the flute, guitar, drums and the piano, and is a fixture in school musicals and plays.

She said there still is a lot of work to be done this season.

“It's most definitely sad to think of this as my last year,” Lipps said. “I always play my best. I definitely want to go out with a bang.”

Tina Lipps became the 12th player in Union girls basketball history to reach 1,000 career points and is closing in on 1,000 career rebounds as well.<B>PointsPlayer Pts.</B>Joyce Wensel 1,963Mary Jane Eaton 1,751Jill Wensel 1,689Andrea Mortimer 1,550Tracie Murray 1,362Bethany Koch 1,332Penny Summerville 1,258Tiffany Corle 1,108Rachel Eaton 1,085Dawn Crissman 1,077Jamie Johnson 1,059<B>Tina Lipps 1,000ReboundsPlayer Reb.</B>Jill Wensel 1,220Joyce Wensel 1,210Mary Jane Eaton 1,064<B>Tina Lipps 978</B>