On Jan. 6, Pitt-Johnstown women’s basketball player Olivia McCabe scored her 1,000th collegiate point in a 76-68 loss to Gannon University.

A senior, McCabe is the 37th Pitt-Johnstown player to achieve the milestone.

“I feel so humbled and honored to be put into a category with so many great players,” McCabe said.

Pitt-Johnstown women’s basketball head coach Michael Drahos said it was only a matter of time before McCabe reached 1,000 points.

“We knew this was going to happen,” Drahos said.

“Ever since she began playing in games regularly, I knew she was definitely going to reach it, I just didn’t know when.”

At the beginning of his Pitt-Johnstown tenure, Drahos, now in his fifth season, made McCabe his first ever recruit.

“I wanted a kid that played hard,” said Drahos, “and I definitely found what I was looking for. I never question where her effort, or her heart is.”

When McCabe scored her 1,000th point, she had her own fan section in the Pitt-Johnstown Sports Center, a crowd of more than 30 people from her hometown of Portage.

“My fans are something I will forever cherish,” McCabe said. “They give me so much motivation to do well and I just want to make them proud.”

While attending Portage Area High School, McCabe had several achievements to her credit.

McCabe reached the 1,000th-point mark during her junior year and passed the 1,000-rebound mark in her senior season.

She is the only player in Portage basketball history to and is one of only eight women to pass the 1,000-point mark.

Emily Chobany, McCabe’s former teammate at Portage, and another member of Portage’s 1,000- point club, said she was excited to hear the news of McCabe reaching the milestone.

“When I first heard about it, I wasn’t surprised at all,” said Chobany.

“I kept thinking how awesome it was for her to get it, though, because she works harder than anyone I have ever seen,” Chobany said.

Under head coach Lance Hudak, the Portage McCabe-Chobany duo, led the team to its first district playoff run in over 25 years.

“I was so proud of her when I heard the news,” said Hudak. “It just shows that all of the hard work she put in paid off. She was part of the turning point of our high school program and a role model for everyone.”

McCabe signed with Pitt-Johnstown prior to her senior year, and said she  had mixed feelings when she first committed to play under Drahos.

“I really didn’t know what to expect,” McCabe said. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I knew it was going to be a great experience.”

McCabe seemed to settle into the new experience quickly.

“Olivia has taken her game to another level and has proven herself to be one of the better players in the league,” Drahos said.

McCabe currently leads Pitt-Johnstown with 15.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. She is also 29th on the Pitt-Johnstown career scoring list with 1,071 points.

Now going down the home stretch of her time at Pitt-Johnstown, McCabe said she sees her career as successful.

“I’m glad I accomplished these things as an athlete, but my team and all of the great people I have met throughout this journey is the most fulfilling.”

Even though McCabe’s collegiate career is coming to a close, she has made an impact on people in her hometown.

“She is everything you would want as a person, and as a basketball player,” said Hudak.