McKenna Hoyt Scores 1,000th Point for StamfordJefferson

STAMFORD – The Hoyt family loves the sport of basketball. You could say it is in their genes as the youngest member of the family recently reached a career milestone, amidst a sea of well-wishers on her home court Friday. McKenna Hoyt sank her 1,000th point in a barn-burner of a game with Stamford/Jefferson holding on for a one-point victory over Charlotte Valley.

Hoyt scored her milestone point in the opening quarter of the game and despite fouling out with two and half minutes remaining on the clock, her teammates stepped up to hold off the Wildcats and win the game by a single point."It really was an exciting night of basketball," said McKenna's mom, Rebecca (Sutton) Hoyt.

Stamford trailed at the half, but got rid of the deficit in the third quarter then went on to hold that marginal lead when their top gun fouled out.

"It was a crazy game," Hoyt continued. She applauds McKenna's teammates, adding that the rest of the team was as excited for McKenna as she was  to reach the milestone. "She realized afterward how much they stepped up in order to hold onto that win. I'm very proud of the fact that, for a teenager, she realized  that."

It's a two-way street. McKenna also likes to see all of her teammates do well, not just on the court, but in the other aspects of their lives as well. "I hope the girls understand how much she wants them to do well too," said her mom. 

McKenna is a sophomore at Stamford Central School and with two more years to play, it is conceivable she may break her older sister's all time scoring record. Melanie Hoyt's scoring career at SCS was halted when the pandemic canceled the remainder of the season. She finished the season with 1,619 points to hold the all time scoring record. Now a junior at St. Anslem in New Hampshire, she is still doing well on the court.

Oh yes, and then there is the oldest sister, Madison. While she did not reach 1,000 points in her high school career, playing most of her high school career with sister Melanie, she has reached that 1,000-point milestone on the court for SUNY Geneseo.

Mom and dad both played college basketball. Becky scored 1,000 career points at Roberts Wesleyan College and Dave Hoyt played hoop at Columbia-Greene Community College. The talent extends to Rebecca's siblings as well, the Sutton girls, who were standout players  at Gilboa-Conesville Central. 

And while McKenna is following in the footsteps of family members, her mom says there is something different, compared to her older sisters. "For her, it is a passion."

"She has been watching her big sisters play since she was teeny weeny," said Rebecca. "Following them around and watching them play. She really loves the game and anything basketball."

And she admits the Hoyt family may be little over the top when it comes to basketball. "We travel to all the different college games. We watch it on television all the time." However, they do try to mix in some other things as far as McKenna is concerned. She is a goalie on the soccer team and she wanted to play softball last spring, but had to decide between being committed to her softball teammates or playing AAU traveling with NewYork Havoc. It is the same team her sisters played for in Albany and when the high school season is over, the Hoyts are on the road traveling with AAU basketball.

"When it is just us at home, we are all about basketball, but when others come, we do other things."

What makes McKenna different, says her mom, is that basketball is a passion of hers. "It is very exciting for me to see this in a 15-year-old girl. It is exciting to watch and I am super excited for her. She is so good with her teammates, and cares about what they are doing.  She realizes the mental part is as important as the physical part when it comes to playing."

"She has set some high goals for herself. She is very blessed, she has a good high school coach and Havoc coach in Albany. She also has great teammates. " McKenna was told by her Havoc coach that good grades are also important and she has stepped up her game academically as well. "I don't know yet what her dream school is, but she is working hard."

While McKenna knew she was getting close to the milestone, her mom didn't think she realized just how close she was. She may have become a little suspicious when her older sister, Madison, showed up for the game on Friday, along with some of McKenna's teammates from New York Havoc along and  her Havoc coach. She lacked just six points.

When she scored point 1,000, the game was stopped to acknowledge the moment. "It was super exciting."

The school's Booster Club, her teammates and her S/J coach George Nebesnik put on a really good show, according to her mom. The coach made sure she got the game ball. There were also many special fans on hand to help in the celebration.

On Saturday morning, Madison was off to Geneseo where her team won its game with Brockport and the rest of the Hoyts went on to New Hampshire where they watched Melanie score her career high of 27 points on the college court. "It was a good basketball weekend in the Hoyt household," said Rebecca.

Next is for the S/J team to continue doing well and hopefully make it into the league finals and on to sectional play. The next goal for McKenna is to break her sister's high school scoring record.  She has been averaging 27 points per game this season and has two seasons remaining.

Needless to say, it was an exciting night for the Stamford community and basketball fans.