Mars girls basketball’s Alexis Cashdollar, a Wake Forest walk-on, scores 1,000th point in win
Alexis Cashdollar has always made a point to be an example.
The Mars senior, who’s ticketed to play at Wake Forest as a preferred walk-on, became the 12th Planets girls basketball player to surpass 1,000 career points, doing so Friday night during a 38-29 win over Chartiers Valley. She scored 21 points, and the Planets secured the fourth spot outright in WPIAL Section 3-5A ahead of next week’s district playoffs.
Cashdollar follows former teammate Vita Vargo, who added her name to the list last season.
“In everything that we have done, when she is there, she is always kind of leading the pack,” Mars coach Zach Stitt said of Cashdollar beforehand. “She’s not always the most vocal person, but she is finishing first in every conditioning drill that we do. ... She’s playing 32 minutes a night almost every night.”
Cashdollar entered the night needing eight points to reach the milestone, which she said has “been in the back of my mind for the past couple of games.”
Stitt added he can count only two instances in which Cashdollar has asked for a break this season. When she has to fight through fatigue, she saves her energy more for defense.
“It’s kinda just a leader standpoint, like, ‘Hey, if I can do it, you guys can do it,’” Cashdollar said.
It’s not just being on the floor, either. Stitt said Cashdollar is averaging approximately 20 points per outings this go-round, and her fingerprints seem to be all over.
“She’s really shown this year that she can be — and really is — a tremendous scorer,” Stitt said. “I think the thing that really sticks out to me, though, is just her overall game. ... She also leads us in rebounds, she leads us in assists, she leads us in steals.”
To complement her importance on the offensive end of the court, Cashdollar has also been tasked with having to check the opponents’ best player.
“You might sit there as the average, casual fan and say, ‘Oh, man, she had a really good night tonight. She scored 20,’” Stitt said. “Or, ‘Oh man, she had a really tough night tonight. She only scored 12 or 14.’ Well, on nights where she’s only giving you 12 or 14, she’s giving you seven, eight, nine rebounds. She’s giving you three, four, five assists.”
The Planets’ win over Montour on Tuesday had already earned them a WPIAL Class 5A playoff berth, meaning Mars never missed the postseason with Cashdollar in the fold. She’ll continue to serve a central role as the Planets aim to make noise in the playoffs.
