Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Makaila Napoleon, center, received a commemorative ball on Wednesday for recently scoring her 1,000th career point.

By Ray Hamill — Eureka senior Makaila Napoleon was honored by the school on Wednesday evening for reaching a memorable milestone a couple of weeks ago.

Napoleon was awarded a commemorative basketball for scoring her 1,000th career point as a Logger, achieving the milestone two weekends ago in a game against Placer at the Harlan Carter tournament in Redding.

“She works hard at her craft,” Eureka head coach Michael Harvey said of the senior standout. “She’s dedicated to basketball, she’s dedicated to improving her game. And she’s been doing that for many years, and it shows.”

Napoleon, a four-year varsity player, was awarded the ball in between the Loggers’ home freshmen and JV games. The varsity team was scheduled to play South Fork as well, but the game was canceled.

“Hard work and effort go a long way towards success at anything in life,” Harvey added.

Napoleon was named MVP at the Lincoln tournament in San Francisco this past weekend, and was also named one of this week’s Humboldt Sports Athletes of the Week.

She has been one of the leaders on a veteran Loggers team that is currently ranked No. 10 overall in the North Coast Section and one of the two favorites for this year’s Big 5, along with Del Norte.

The Loggers are off to an 8-2 start and have won two of the three tournaments they have competed at.

“I’m very happy with the start, and I’m happy with how they’re getting on as a group,” Harvey said of the team.

Next up for the Loggers is a trip to the West Coast Jamboree at Castro Valley High, which tips off on Dec. 27.

And the Eureka girls can expect to see some top quality teams at the eight-team event, including Lakeside and Mission San Jose, the Nos. 13 and 24 teams in the state, respectively.

“We’re excited about that,” the head coach said. “We’re preparing ourselves for league.”

The Loggers, who open the tournament against Castro Valley (5-5), are currently ranked No. 59 in the state.