St. Mary’s Shay Ciezki makes up for lost time
LANCASTER, N.Y. (BVM) – When St. Mary’s senior Shay Ciezki entered the program her freshman season, she had a list of goals she had hoped to hit on before her time concluded. The headliner on that list: breaking the school’s scoring record.
“2,000 (points) was one of those major goals that I didn’t necessarily think that I would reach but I was always going to try… and see what could happen,” Ciezki said. “Luckily it did.”
The Lancers’ guard has had a monumental impact on the program since she first arrived. Her combination of skill and natural instincts has helped her deliver from the very beginning, when Ciezki helped the Lancers to a 21-2 record in her freshman campaign. Behind her first two seasons, Ciezki had racked up more than 1,000 points, allowing her a chance at joining an elite club at the high school level.
“My 1,000-point was pretty big,” Ciezki said. “I never thought I was going to get that milestone my sophomore year. I was shocked.”
With the milestone goal under her belt, Ciezki seemed to have more than enough time to reach 2,000. Unfortunately for the Lancers’ star, her junior season would be minimized to roughly 10 less games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, putting her goal of getting to 2,000 in jeopardy. Ciezki, however, wouldn’t let the newest hurdle affect her mindset.
The St. Mary’s guard would come out firing to open the 2021 season, notching her first of three 40-point performances in the team’s first game. A mix of 20-30–point performances throughout the next month would bring her closer to not only the program’s record of 1,776 career points, set by current assistant coach Raeann Stilwell, but also the once–much anticipated 2,000-point mark.
With every game bringing her closer to the record, Ciezki could feel some of the nerves leading up to the moment.
“There was definitely a lot of pressure just when I’m going to get that 2,000,” Ciezki said. “Which game am I going to do it at? Home in front of all my fans, or away? So, there was a little pressure on that, but at the end of the day, if I got it, I got it.”
From Panther to Lancer @shay_ciezki was a special player & person. Tonight she hit the 2,000pt milestone in her 81st HS game 25ppg over 4yrs. She is more than points. She is a leader & mentor. She is Shay2K. @SMH_WBasketball is so proud of you! Keep being Shay! @SMHAthletics pic.twitter.com/PyLSWotDFf
— SMH W Basketball (@SMH_WBasketball) February 10, 2022
After Ciezki topped the former program record in a win against Elmira, the career mark seemed set to happen in the Lancers’ home matchup against Cardinal O’Hara with Ciezki needing just 18 points. Early in the third quarter of the team’s matchup, Ciezki finished with a driving layup, eclipsing the 2,000-mark. A pause in play would ensue as she was embraced by teammates and coaches.
“It didn’t really take me until that night to really process, ‘Oh my gosh I scored 2,000 points,’” Ciezki said. “In that moment, I didn’t really realize the big milestone that I just reached. It was cool that night, I was sitting down with my family and we’re all talking like, ‘Wow, this is pretty crazy, this is pretty unreal.’”
The season has been a special one for Ciezki who has enjoyed taking on a much different role in her senior campaign. With five seniors graduating this past year, the Lancers’ star has taken on a bigger responsibility to help lead a team of mostly underclassmen.
“My roles changed from being that junior that was one of the starters to now a senior having to lead the whole team,” Ciezki said. “I’m just grateful for the opportunity to have these young players under my wing so I can kind of mentor them and lead them in a winning mindset. It’s been an awesome change and it’s going to help me down the road at Penn State.”
Ciezki will be taking the leap to the next level this fall as she begins her freshman season at Penn State. With a number of schools interested in the Western New York native, Ciezki couldn’t pass up the chance to play under former Marquette coach Carolyn Kieger in State College.
“It was definitely the girls, the atmosphere, the coaches,” Ciezki said when asked about her choice of Penn State. “Coach Keager has… a winning mentality that I can see in her and I know she’s going to take Penn State to bigger heights in the next few years. And the girls were just absolutely amazing. They welcomed me with open arms and I took a visit down there and as soon as I stepped on campus I felt that it was a family and it was right.”
With her senior season nearing the end, Ciezki has high hopes for her final chapter at St. Mary’s as the Lancers continue their run in the Monsignor Martin playoffs.
“I’m so proud of them because we’re really pushing through and we’re winning some games that we didn’t think that we would win prior to the season,” Ciezki said. “With playoffs coming, I think we have a really good shot of making that state championship run.”
