A quadruple-double is about as rare of a feat one can find in basketball.
 
So rare, in fact, that few – if any – have been documented in Kansas girls’ history. 
 
And of all the candidates to accomplish such a rare feat, Highland Park’s Koralee Jones wouldn’t have necessarily been at the top of the list
 
Not because of her talent level, mind you. A multi-sport athlete for the Scots, Jones has all the tools. Just not the experience.
 
When Jones pulled off the rare feat on Jan. 13 in a 68-10 win over Sumner Academy with 22 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals, it came in just her third year of playing organized basketball.
 
“It was really surprising,” said Jones, a 5-10 senior forward/guard for the Scots who didn’t join the program until her sophomore season. “At the end of the game, I didn’t even know I had a quadruple-double. I thought maybe I had a triple-double but my mom (Dana) pointed out that it was actually a quadruple-double. I was pretty excited.
 
“I wasn’t really thinking about my stats. I was just doing what I could to help us get a win.”
 
Growing up, basketball was never really Jones’ thing. The sport she really loved was football, and she played tackle football on a boys team.
 
“I just never really thought to play it,” Jones said of basketball. “I tried it out in eighth grade, but I didn’t think it was for me.”
 
She spent her first year of high school playing in the pep band at Highland Park basketball games. Her size caught Highland Park coach Rob Brown’s attention and always working the halls in the school to try to get players to join the program, he went to work on trying to convince Jones she could help the Scots out.
 
“When I first got the job, my first thing was getting in the hallways and recruiting girls I knew were athletic and could help the program out, even if basketball wasn’t their main sport – girls I knew that could compete and I could mold into players that could help us win,” Brown said. “With Koko, she came to fall workouts her freshman year and then just kind of disappeared on us. I saw her at our first home game in the band and was like, ‘What happened to you?’
 
“She said, ‘Oh, maybe I’ll try it next year. I just need to get a little better.’ She did her own thing and popped back up next summer and came to us as a sophomore. She was super-raw but she had played football and slow pitch softball with her mom and other adults. And she picked up volleyball, too.”
 
“Coach Rob just re-introduced me to (basketball) and I began to fall in love with it,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t have even started playing if it wasn’t for him.”
 
During her first two seasons, Jones had the luxury of growing into a role on the team with the Scots led by the likes of standouts Amelia Ramsey, Angelique Gowan-Britt, Pearmella Carter and Tahtionna Broils, to name a few.
 
Jones credited her teammates with helping her develop her basketball skills at a rapid enough of a pace that she was able to become a solid role player for the Scots during those first two seasons.
 
“I was able to soak up that knowledge and that was able to help me,” she said. “A lot of those past seniors and teammates have taught me so much. They just coached me and motivated me all throughout and never were discouraging in any way. They were always helpful and that helped grow my passion for the sport.”
 
Jones figured to have a supporting role again this year with the Scots expected to return Carter, who was named the Meadowlark Conference player of the year each of the past two seasons as a freshman and sophomore. But in the offseason, Carter transferred to Shawnee Heights and the Scots also lost third-leading scorer Ciara Hartz, who transferred to Topeka High.
 
Just like that, Jones, who averaged just over 3 points and just under 4 rebounds per game last year, was thrust into the role of team leader this season.
 
“It’s definitely different, but it gives me all the more motivation to get better in this role that’s been given to me,” Jones said. “It’s an honor to try and fill those shoes and be able to more for the program. I was nervous and excited. We’ve had our highs and lows, but from where we’ve started and how far we’ve come, we’ve done good so far.”
 
Brown had no reservations in hitching his team’s success to Jones this season.
 
“With Koko, she put the work in,” Brown said. “She’s in the gym all summer. If you drive by her house, she’s in the driveway shooting or doing moves on her own. I had a lot of confidence in her because she puts the work in, and she’s a good leader.
 
“She can play inside or outside, handle the ball. She’s so athletic – she can touch the rim – so kind of a freak athlete. That Sumner game, she was rocking and rolling so we just rolled with her. I’m not surprised at all and I expect her to get those type of numbers in our league.”
 
 
OTHER GIRLS BASKETBALL STANDOUTS

• After winning only six games last year, Burlingame has matched that mark this season. Harper Seele grabbed a school-record 19 rebounds in a win over Madison and also added 11 points while McKenna McFarlane had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the win.
• Axtell is off to its best start since the 2015 season, taking a 10-2 record into this week’s Twin Valley League Tournament. The Eagles have won eight straight and in the first round of the tourney, Katelyn Detweiler had 16 points, 13 steals and 7 rebounds.
• Seaman’s Maddie Gragg scored her 1,000th career point in the Vikings’ win over Topeka West last Tuesday.
• Perry-Lecompton’s Emmy Reed averaged 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in two Big East League wins over St. Marys and Rossville. She broke a school record with six assists against Rossville.
• Madison’s Caylin Luthi scored 26 points in a win over Northern Heights.

 
BOYS BASKETBALL STANDOUTS

• Going into the semifinals of the Nemaha Central Thunder Classic, Hiawatha is 11-1 after winning only eight games last year. The Red Hawks beat Jefferson West 70-55 last Friday with Michael Jensen hitting 7 3-pointers in the game on his way to setting a new school record for most 3-pointers made in a game. He finished with 26 points.
• Centralia’s Quentin Alderfer had 33 points against Maur Hill and 19 points against NEK. He then broke the school record for 3-pointers made in a game with 10 in a 32-point outing in the Twin Valley League Tournament opener, the old record being eight.
• Burlingame’s Drake Skirvin set the school’s single-game rebound record in a win over Lebo, pulling down a whopping 27 rebounds while also scoring 18 points. Skirvin is averaging 14.7 rebounds per game as well as 22.4 points.
• Axtell’s Colin Shaughnessy went over 1,000 career points in a 30-point outing against Centralia in the Twin Valley League Tournament opener.
• Northern Heights’ Henry Scheeley had 15 points and 12 rebounds against Lebo.
• Osawatomie’s Jasper Sallee had a huge week in a split for the Trojans, scoring 30 points in a 64-55 win over Iola and 40 points in a 66-57 loss to Burlington.

 
BOWLING STANDOUTS

• Hayden’s Kelton Meier is off to a big start to the season. In the Wildcats’ opening meet, Meier rolled a 300 game and finished with a 785 series. He followed with a 720 series in his next meet. The 300 game and 785 series are school records.
• Manhattan’s Cortlynn Millington was the girls winner at Hayden’s season-opening meet, rolling a 279 game on her way to a 720 series that won the meet by more than 260 pins.