After beginning her high school basketball career with two splendid seasons, Manteno junior forward Maddie Gesky knew she had the chance not only to reach 1,000 career points this year but also to become the Panthers’ all-time scoring leader.

Just two games after becoming a 1,000-point scorer during Monday’s win at Wilmington, Gesky made it an especially memorable week when she got the career scoring record during Thursday’s 51-30 win over Herscher.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Gesky said. “I didn’t know I’d be here, especially this soon. It’s incredible, but I couldn’t do any of this without my teammates. They’re the ones getting me the ball. Ultimately, I can’t do it without them.”

Gesky took a feed from freshman Hannah Stritar on an inbounds play from under the basket and put it up through contact for her record-setting bucket that put her past 1990 graduate Jodi Miller with her 13th and 14th points of the night and 1,040th and 1,041st points of her career.

Before the free throw, she converted a three-point play. Manteno head coach Bethany Stritar took a timeout to allow Gesky her moment, complete with an announcement from athletic director Justin Emerson, a banner from her teammates and a ball from coach Stritar, the latter of which was immediately brought to her dad in the stands.

After that, it was right back to basketball. Gesky finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, an assist, four steals and five blocks. Hannah Stritar scored 10 points, while Lila Prindeville and Kendall Blanchette had eight points apiece for a Manteno (19-2, 8-0 Illinois Central Eight Conference), which has won four in a row and 18 of its last 19.

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Manteno's Maddie Gesky takes a shot as Herscher's Laney Mohler guards in a game in Manteno on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Nicholas Holstein for Shaw Local)

With Gesky and a deep senior group that have combined to lead the Panthers to their winningest two-plus year stretch and program history, wins like Thursday aren’t being taken for granted by coach Stritar.

“I’m very lucky, and I don’t take that for granted,” Bethany Stritar said. “They’re just a great group of girls. They’re friends, teammates, they’re competitors and talented athletes that just give it their all.”

While the Panthers prevailed by 31 points, early indications made it look like the Tigers (7-13, 2-6) had a shot at an upset. They traded three ties and four lead changes with the Panthers in the first quarter, their last lead coming when Laney Mohler’s 3-pointer put them up 8-6 with less than a minute left in the first.

But after a late Gesky bucket knotted things at 8 apiece after one quarter, the Panthers pushed past the visiting Tigers in the second. They ended the first half on a 17-1 run that gave them a comfortable 28-13 cushion at the break and set the stage for their dominant second half.

Herscher coach Tim McElroy credited the Manteno role players for hitting some tough shots – six Panthers had five or more points – and also noted how tough it can be to score against the 2-3 and 3-2 zones the Panthers ran that are anchored in the post by Gesky and Emily Horath.

“Our girls were doing all the right things,” McElroy said. “Sometimes you do all the right things, you drive, try and get inside or get those wide open 3s that aren’t falling. So then it’s alright, let’s attack and get them in foul trouble. And then honestly, their post players are really disciplined and just stood tall.”

Both teams have nonconference games Monday, with the Tigers hosting Tri-Point and the Panthers hosting Cissna Park. The Panthers are tied for 10th in the Class 2A AP Poll, and Cissna Park is eighth in Class 1A, setting the stage for a primetime matchup of premier Kankakee area teams.

It’s games such as Monday’s upcoming meeting that coach Stritar hopes will help the Panthers in their preparation for the postseason. After snapping a 33-year regional title drought two years ago, last year’s all-time winningest season (24 wins) ended without a postseason plaque.

And changing that for Gesky would mean more than any accolade she accomplished this week.

“When you break an individual record, that’s cool in the moment,” Gesky said. “But nobody’s going to remember it in 10 years. Everyone will remember our team accomplishments up on the wall in 10 years.”