Submitted Photo Above, Gowanda Lady Panthers’ star athlete Miya Scanlan is pictured on the court after scoring her 1,000th career point in a game on Dec. 10 against the Salamanca Lady Warriors in Salamanca. Scanlan needed 21 points in the game to reach the milestone and achieved it just before halftime when she sunk a free throw attempt.

Whether it’s on the lacrosse field, the volleyball court or the basketball court, Gowanda’s Miya Scanlan will leave you saying ‘my, oh Miya!’

It is good to succeed in one sport, it’s even better to be good at two, but it’s just downright amazing to be great at three. Gowanda’s three sport star junior, Miya Scanlan, does exactly that in all three varsity sports she competes in for the Gowanda Lady Panthers and she has the accolades to back it up.

This year already has been a monumental success for Scanlan who is still just a junior. In the fall, Scanlan helped lead the Gowanda Lady Panthers volleyball team to a 14-2 regular season record and earned recognition for her talents in the CCAA North division by being named a First Team All-Star.

Then in early November, Scanlan announced her commitment to play Division I Lacrosse at Jacksonville University via Instagram.

The year just continued to get better for Scanlan as she headed into basketball season. An already established force to be reckoned with on the court, Scanlan was not too far off of 1,000 career points at the beginning of her junior season.

For their third game of the year, the Lady Panthers were on the road in Salamanca. At that point Scanlan was sitting at 979 career points scored, just 21 away from reaching the coveted 1,000 point milestone.

Plenty of athletes care just about the individual accolades and pay little attention to the team goals, but that is not the case with Scanlan who was not focused on getting her 1,000th point.

“Heading into that game my only concern was to help my team win the game,” Gowanda Lady Panthers junior Miya Scanlan stated.

Even if reaching the 1,000 points was not on Miya’s mind, it was on the minds of those watching. According to Gowanda head coach Ross John, the team was unaware how close Miya was approaching the 1,000th point throughout the course of the first half, until, a scorekeeper said that she was getting really close.

Getting to 1,000 points is quite the feat and the pressure of trying to get there can really weigh on a player and impact their performance. It was not like Scanlan needed just five points to get it, she needed to get 21 points, which is an amazing scoreline that is generally expected to be reached at the end of a very good game.

But when you see how talented an athlete Scanlan is, it comes as no surprise she could score at will to get there as soon as possible.

“She makes it look easy,” stated Gowanda head coach Ross John. “She’s tall and she’s lanky… she’s just got a natural flow about her. She scores, passes, rebounds, she is that all around player you can basically put her in any spot out there. Any team would be happy to have her.”

Just before halftime, Scanlan found herself on the foul line and sunk the shot to give her 21 points and brought her career total to 1,000 points.

Coming from a big, close knit family, it was special for Scanlan to accomplish this goal in front of them and alongside her teammate and sister Crissa.

“Scoring my 1,000th point felt awesome, especially to do it in front of my family and friends,” stated Scanlan. “What made it even better was I was able to play with my little sister Crissa. Not many people are able to play with their younger siblings at the varsity level, for me it’s a dream come true to play with her.”

Headed into halftime, the Lady Panthers had established a substantial lead over the lady Warriors. In the second half, Scanlan just added another basket to bring her game total to 23 and career total to 1,002. With the big lead, Scanlan looked to help her teammates score and then rested the remainder of the game and Gowanda went on to win 41-30.

“She’s basically our anchor,” stated Coach John. “She’s out there helping the other teammates pick their game up.”

Miya knows that it is an incredible feat to reach 1,000 career points and knows that you do not get there all by yourself.

“I’m thankful for the talents that I’ve been blessed with, without my family supporting me none of this would’ve been possible,” stated Scanlan. “I’m also thankful for the athletic department at Gowanda Central High School. The athletic director Mr. Bruening and the basketball, lacrosse, and volleyball coaching staff for their time and efforts that they have put into our programs at Gowanda High School. Without them and all of my teammates none of this would’ve been possible.”

Remarkably, Scanlan was able to reach 1,000 points just three games into her junior season, so there is no telling how many career points she will have when she graduates. But career points is not on Scanlan’s mind, she is more focused on the Lady Panthers team success this season.

“My next goal throughout the season is to try and lead my team to a Section VI championship,” stated Scanlan.

As we continue to marvel at Scanlan’s athletic career on the basketball court, one thing that makes it all that more impressive is the fact that basketball is not even her best sport.

“She is a major factor on the court,” Coach John added. “She’s an exceptional athlete for her to get 1,000 points and be a presence in this league, in a sport that is her second favorite sport… she is a talent.”

When not on the volleyball or basketball court, Scanlan is a superstar on the lacrosse field and has already received big time recognition. Scanlan has already committed her talents to Jacksonville University for Division I Lacrosse and she still has both her junior and senior seasons left to play.

The next chance anyone will get to see Scanlan’s elite athleticism on display will be on Jan. 6 when the Lady Panthers basketball team returns from break and takes to the court in Falconer. As just a junior, we still have a lot of time to appreciate Scanlan’s greatness, but two years can go by fast so do yourself a favor and see her talent with your own eyes.