ALTAMONT — When it comes to scoring 1,000 points in high school basketball, it isn’t quite as common when it happens in the Teutopolis girls basketball program.
Other programs have multiple 1,000-point scorers frequently.
Not the Lady Shoes, though.
Since Teutopolis started its first full girls basketball season in 1979, only 15 players had achieved that mark. That is until last Thursday.
No. 16 came from No. 15, as senior Chloe Probst eclipsed 1,000 points for her career in T-Town’s 61-31 win over Altamont at Altamont High School. The two to do it before her were Kaylee Niebrugge in 2023 and her sister, Lexi Niebrugge.
“It’s quite an accomplishment, especially for Chloe, because she only scored like 12 points her freshman year,” Lady Shoes head coach Laurie Thompson said. “We are the ‘love when everyone gets to score’ type of program. When that’s the case, it makes it a bit more difficult. We typically don’t have a 25-point scorer. We have a lot of 10s and 12s, so it’s pretty impressive.”
Probst reached 1,000 points for her career in the third quarter.
She needed 14 points heading into the game.
“I was proud of Chloe because it’s on your mind,” Thompson said. “We’ve been thinking about it for games now and you want it, but I thought she shared the ball so well in that game. She had several assists prior to that and that shows you that she was extremely unselfish. In her mind, I think she was like, ‘Let the game come to you; it’s going to happen.’”
It took a while for Probst to get going.
She made her first shot with 5:18 to go in the first quarter — a three-pointer from the top of the arc.
Probst added four free throws in the first period and only scored two in the second.
Once the third quarter began, she knew she had to score quickly. Realistically, Probst only had one quarter left to score five more points.
She opened the third quarter by cutting to the basket for a layup. Probst then made another layup after a steal from Mollie Ruholl with 6:35 left in the frame.
Her following two points would be her best, though.
With under 30 seconds left, Probst drove around her defender, took the contact and got her shot to fall while drawing the foul.
Junior Malea Helmink raised both of her fists in the air while her teammates swarmed her with hugs.
It was a moment that Probst will never forget.
“Scoring my 1,000th point is a moment I’ll never forget. It’s the result of years of hard work, countless hours in the gym and the support of my family and friends, teammates and coaches who have pushed me to be better every day,” she said. “I couldn’t have reached this milestone without them and sharing this achievement with my team makes it even more meaningful.”
Thompson has seen Probst blossom in her program over the years, waiting her turn.
“Chloe has a nose for the ball. When she was younger, she wanted to score,” Thompson said. “Chloe works at her game, especially her offensive game. She also plays AAU in the summer to work on her game. She’s pretty knowledgeable, too. She might say in the huddle, ‘What if we try this, or I think that kid is doing this, try this.’ I love that.”
Her play style is also eerily similar to Kaylee Niebrugge’s, though Thompson said Probst does shoot the outside shot a bit more.
“Chloe is a strong kid because she can play in the post a little bit. She shoots more threes than Kaylee,” Thompson said. “She’s that go-to player. She’s a good leader out there. She can see who’s ahead of her and that’s what Kaylee did, too.”
Probst finished that night with 18 points.