The first season of Suffolk University women’s basketball was in 1982-83, and since then only 11 Lady Rams have eclipsed the prestigious 1,000-point mark. Senior Georgia Bourikas is looking to etch her name to that list.
Bourikas recently said to The Suffolk Journal “reaching the mark” is something she had always wanted. The Rams shooting guard currently sits at 721 career points, which means she will have to tally 279 points on the year to meet the 1,000 point mark. This is not unfamiliar territory to Bourikas, who scored 294 points in her sophomore season, to the tune of 10.5 points per game.
Bourikas said helping the team win games is of utmost importance to her compared to any personal achievements.
“I’ve always wanted to achieve the milestone of scoring 1,000 points, it’s in the back of my mind,” said Bourikas. “But I’d rather get a team win than focus on individual stats.”
Along with her natural ability to score, fellow Rams have said that Bourikas has been a tremendous teammate.
Junior forward Shannon Smith said, in an interview with The Journal, that Bourikas had been known for her hard work and leadership on and off the court.
“[Bourikas] is an awesome teammate, a hard worker, and she’s very humble,” said Smith. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard a complaint from her, she’s just a great leader to look up to.”
Coach Ed Leyden recruited Bourikas during her junior year at Fontbonne Academy in Milton, Massachusetts. Leyden said in a recent interview with The Journal that Bourikas had evolved into a prototypical team player and had been a model for this type of play for most her time at Suffolk, predominantly in the last two years as a team captain.
“[Bourikas] has always been a very down to earth and welcoming person,” said Leyden. “She is very old-fashioned, she buys into the team mentality and is a mentor for her teammates in that way.”
As Bourikas approaches the goal, Leyden said that he would be delighted if she were to reach the mark. However, he did not believe that it was on the frontier of her goals looking into her final season with the Rams.
Bourikas was set to be a key piece of the team her sophomore year, but a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) kept her out for the entire season. Leyden said he thinks that this experience may have helped to shape the way she thinks about basketball.
“I’d be very happy for [Bourikas] if she reaches 1,000 points, I think it would be special to see her name up there with the others that have done it, but she is more about the team,” said Leyden. “When she tore her ACL her sophomore year, I think it really made her value just being able to go out there and play the game and help the team win.”
Bourikas made it clear that reaching the scoring mark would be a very humbling experience for her. Because this will be Bourikas’ final season, she plans to use that factor as motivation to reach this pinnacle. She said she wants to leave it all on the court.
“The most motivating thing for me is that this is my last year of basketball ever,” said Bourikas. “I’ve worked for over 15 years on this game and I want to be able to say at the end of it, that I gave it my all.”
