VELMA — Trailing Empire by three points in a winner-take-all game for the Oil Field Conference title, the Velma-Alma girls basketball team huddled together in a timeout — far more concerned about winning than realizing what just happened.
History had just been rewritten on Feb. 1, but Velma-Alma senior scoring sensation Lyndei Mercer wasn’t aware she had just reached 2,000 career points — an extraordinarily rare milestone in high school basketball.
On her home court that night, Mercer — according to the Oklahoma State Historical Society — became the 40th girl in Oklahoma history to reach 2,000 career points and the first girl in Stephens County ever to do so.
**Note: Lyndei Mercer became the 40th girl in state history to reach the 2,000 point milestone. One other player hit the mark later in February, meaning there are now 41 girls currently on the monumental list.
“It was amazing. I was so happy to do it here at home,” Mercer said. “That was the best feeling with everybody that I know here to witness me reach it and be a part of the special moment.”
Coming into the game, Mercer needed 24 points. Averaging 27 per game her senior year made it seem like a rather small feat. When you’re double and even triple-teamed most trips down the court, it’s not so simple.
Mercer’s family and Velma-Alma coach Kenny Bare had the festivities for the celebration ready just in case.
“She had no idea,” Bare said. “She knew she was getting close but she didn’t want to know.”
The Comets (16-9) dug themselves an early hole when they lost one of their top players, senior Emily Ely to a meniscus injury in the second quarter. At halftime, Mercer had only eight points, but she erupted for 13 points in the fourth quarter as VA made a comeback.
In a neck-and-neck game, Bare’s daughter and stat keeper, Katie, a 2005 All-State player who reached the 1,000 point milestone in her Comet days, whispered to her dad, “Lyndei needs one more point.”
Bare thought to himself, ‘No matter what, I gotta call timeout.’ It didn’t matter how close the game was. This was a moment in history.
Fed off a transition steal, Mercer went in for a swooping layup — one of her many trademark shots.
“I knew that was the one,” Bare said.
Bare called timeout with the intercom blaring, declaring Mercer had reached the milestone. Bare told Mercer to stand up and wave.
“What?” Mercer asked. Coach Bare told her, “Lyndei, you just hit 2,000 points.”
She didn’t realize it at first. Then it sank in.
“It didn’t register in my brain,” Mercer said. “When the timeout was over, I walked out back onto the court and everybody was still applauding. I was like, ‘Wow. I finally hit 2,000.’ I can’t even describe the feeling. It was amazing.”
Both crowds, including visiting Empire, gave her a stirring standing ovation.
“It was amazing,” said senior Sydney Beck, one of Mercer’s teammates and closest friends. “I cried when she did it because I was so proud of her.”
Empire made free throws to seal the 49-42 win, but it didn’t take away from Mercer’s monumental moment.
After the game, Senior Night ceremonies commenced. With Velma-Alma’s 2017 football season cancelled, there was a surplus of senior Comets as football joined seniors from the band and cheerleaders as well as basketball.
Mercer was the final Comet to be introduced as her career stats were shared while receiving an even louder and longer ovation for her achievements.
She was given the game ball as well as an autographed ball before her 2,000-point celebration reception followed.
“Lyndei is in an exclusive club,” Bare said. “I think she’s proud she’s doing this but she would much rather have us win the game than care about breaking records. When she’s older, she’s going to appreciate what she’s accomplished.”
Mercer, the 3-time running Oil Field Conference MVP who will likely make it four in a row when coaches meet next Monday, didn’t even want to know how close she was to 2,000.
It made the pinnacle that much sweeter.
Class A Regional playoffs loom this weekend — starting on Thursday when the Comets host Achille. Needing three wins to advance to the Area tournament, Mercer is more focused on keeping her high school career going before reflecting on this milestone further on down the road.
“I think it’s going to be an awesome story to tell that I was one of the top 40 in the state to ever do this,” Mercer said.
Small school, big uphill climb
Star athletes at smaller schools don’t always receive the recognition they deserve.
When Mercer was invited this summer to a photoshoot with other elite hoopers across the state after being named to the preseason VYPE top-100 list, she was blown away.
“It made me feel like I was up there with the Class 6A and the big school players — like I was one of them and just as good as they were,” Mercer said. “I always feel like people say, ‘Oh you’re just a small town player.’ It’s good for your surrounding schools but when they asked me to come up there, I thought, ‘This is the elite of the elite. This is big time.’”
Mercer should get the same elite recognition when All-State teams are announced this spring.
“That would be amazing. If I could get that honor, that would be the biggest honor possible,” said Mercer, whose older brother Dallen was a three-sport All-Stater in football, basketball and track. “I want that more than anything. I’ve always dreamed of All-State.”
It would be absurd if Mercer, as a 2,000 point scorer, was left off the list, but coaches on the committee sometimes foolishly look at how far your team advances. Top players on state tournament teams are often given the nod.
“There are so many of the coaches on the committee that are so infatuated with how far your team went,” said Bare, whose Comets have made Area the last three years. “If she doesn’t make All State, there is something wrong with the process.”
To reach this point, Mercer has had to work harder than anyone.
A gym rat if ever there was one, Mercer will go home after practice, eat supper, then come back to the gym and shoot some more.
“There’s not a kid in this town that works harder,” Bare said. “She shoots on her own as much — if not more than — any kid I’ve ever coached.”
Five or six nights a week, the gym is her second home.
“I’m going to miss going to the gym every night,” Mercer said.
“EVERY NIGHT,” her teammate Beck echoed with a laugh. “Literally every single night we come to the gym together and play little games of one-on-one.”
Mercer’s work ethic has set her apart, but it’s her selfless attitude that puts her in another solar system.
Not a single day in the past four years has Mercer come into the gym with a bad attitude or a bad practice, Bare said.
“When you have your best player be that type of hard working and selfless person, the other girls have to fall in line,” Bare said. “She’s a tremendous leader because she leads by example.”
Mercer has played AAU ball with the Oklahoma Swarm the last four years. Each year, Mercer has taken a major step in development. This year was a giant step showcasing her ability to step out and play guard, break presses and drain treys as coach Bare wanted to expand her 4-spot responsibilities.
Mercer has been Velma-Alma’s leading scorer and rebounder for four years. In her freshman and sophomore years, she rarely took outside shots. This year she leads the Comets in 3-point attempts and makes.
Her favorite memories will be nights like last Thursday before their home playoff opener having a team supper showcasing the comradery with teammates and parents together.
“We’re just a big family and all the best of friends,” Mercer said. “All the bonding times together, nights with my team, the coaches and parents pouring their hearts out — I’m going to miss that the most.”
Sports-loving siblings
Lyndei must’ve taken notes from her three older siblings.
When she was in elementary, Lyndei’s two older sisters were multi-sport athletes in high school. Whenever the sisters or her brother, Dallen, had ball games, she came to watch.
Dallen is the age of Bare’s son so even when Lyndei was little, Bare saw her hanging around sports with her brother.
Growing up, Lyndei, the baby of the family, would ask to tag along to help get better.
“It was very competitive,” Mercer said. “It was amazing though. It was always good to have someone there. I was very blessed with the siblings I have and how supportive they are and how much they were willing to help me.”
Mercer, who is also a stud softball player, State golf qualifier in addition to long jumping and running the sprint and 2-mile relays on the track team, has clearly taken after her siblings.
Mercer’s parents have also been a huge part of her success.
“It’s tough juggling all the sports sometimes, but it’s all I’ve ever known,” Mercer said. “My parents are big supporters. They don’t force me to go. It’s my decision. If I go, good choice. If I don’t, stay home and rest.”
Softball, golf, track and any other sport cannot compare to her love for hoops, though. Mercer couldn’t put her finger on it, but she was drawn to basketball at a young age.
Lyndei and her father will sit in the living room at night and watch basketball on TV, fascinated by the plays and say, ‘Oh that was pick and roll, that was so good.’
“I honestly don’t know what it is,” Mercer said. “There’s just something about basketball that’s got my heart. It’s my favorite sport — always has been, always will be.”
Coach and player bond
Someone asked Lyndei the other day, “What are you going to do when you’re done playing for Coach Bare?”
Mercer responded, “I don’t know.”
She’s ready to graduate but not ready to leave her coach — the one who mentored her and helped her reach 2,000 points.
“Coach Bare is like another dad to me,” Mercer said. “His whole family will accept you with open arms and let you in. It’s a great feeling to know that he’s always there and has all the trust in me.”
Bare has asked Mercer to do even more this year, and even when she makes a mistake — which is rare — his trust in her never wavers.
“He definitely pushes you past your limits and isn’t afraid to see the better out of you,” Mercer said. “He’s going to do anything in his power to help you reach your ultimate potential and push you wherever you need to go.”
In Bare’s 11th season coaching girls, he reflects back to the talented teams he won state championships with in 2001 and 2002 along with his four All-State players he’s coached. Mercer is alongside them at the very top.
“All around what she can do — defense, offense, inside and outside — and as big and strong as she is, she’s gotta be at the top,” Bare said. “That’s not just because ‘the latest is the greatest type fad’ in today’s world. She’s every bit as good as the others. She’s just a tremendous player.”
Coach Bare knew of her off-the-charts potential when Lyndei was just a sixth grader. In the spring, Bare hosts a youth basketball camp, which Mercer has been coming to and dominating awards since she was in kindergarten.
“I’ve watched her grow up and it’s been really neat,” Bare said. “It’s going to be sad whenever our last game is.”
Just as rare as Halley’s Comet
Entering high school, Mercer never envisioned reaching the 2,000 point milestone.
“I honestly didn’t think it was possible because I never heard of anyone doing it,” Mercer said. “It was always a dream.”
Her main dream was to get 1,000. When she reached it last year in the fifth game of her junior year, 2,000 was in her sights and well within her reach.
“I thought, ‘Why stop here?’ Just keep going.”
Check one dream off the list. The next fairy tale is to make it to basketball’s final weekend.
“It is my dream to make it to the state tournament,” Mercer said. “It hasn’t been done for Velma in a long time. I want to make history and with these girls, I think we really can. We just have to keep believing in each other and pushing each other like we have been.”
Mercer wants to play college basketball and pursue a degree in nursing but is waiting for more coaches to notice her on the recruiting trail.
Perhaps now that she has joined exclusive company which the majority of college players never achieved, more coaches will come calling.
“I don’t like it,” Mercer said of anxiety that comes hand in hand with recruiting. “It’s really nerve wracking and gets me down sometimes, like, OK, maybe I’m not going for basketball.”
No matter what comes next, Lyndei Mercer’s selfless attitude and relentless work ethic that carried her to 2000 points can carry her anywhere in life — both on and off the court.
No. 4 on the court. No. 1 in the Comets’ hearts.