Liberty senior Ava Kopetskie is Hurricane basketball’s all-time leading scorer, the feat accomplished on Jan. 27 during Liberty’s game against Easton at Liberty.

“I was dribbling downcourt, and I knew I was three away, and Coach (Jarrett Carnes) started yelling Caitlin, Caitlin, (the WNBA’s Caitlin Clark) which is my signal to shoot a deep 3, so I was like, OK, I’m gonna pull it, and it went in,” Kopetskie said.

At the start of the game, Kopetskie needed five points to break the record of 1,486, previously held by Warren West ‘87.

“I was really excited because I missed a 3 before, so for Coach to say that and me to make it, especially on a deep 3 like that, it was a great feeling,” she said.

Easton led, 7-3, when Kopetskie took her shot with 2:30 remaining in the first quarter.

Liberty center Chloe Rumelhart was the first to congratulate her teammate by lifting up Kopetskie and spinning her around before the Hurricane bench stormed the court.

“Chloe’s one of my best friends, so it was a great moment to have with her, and it really shows our friendship,” said Kopetskie.

West, who was in attendance, also congratulated the Hurricane guard as the game was stopped briefly.

“He was saying that he’s really proud of me and that he loves me, and he’s glad that I can uphold this and be Liberty’s all-time leading scorer now,” Kopetskie said. “He actually reffed me in a bunch of my summer league games, so we grew a bond throughout my years, so it was really cool that I could pass him.”

Kopetskie’s mother Krista had thankful hugs for Coach Carnes, West, and her daughter.

“She said she was ecstatic for me and super proud of me and that she loved me and that she knew all my hard work would get me here,” said Kopetskie. “Last time we played Easton, I only had five points. Granted I didn’t play that much, so coming in now, I was just a little nervous. I knew it would come, so I just had to keep playing.”

Although Easton won the game, 66-32, the Hurricane loss was secondary to the personal victory of the night that was shared with the community on Jan. 27.