Sterling’s Madison Austin eclipses 1,000 points in postseason win

STERLING – It was only fitting that Madison Austin scored her 1,000th point in the same gym where she’s put in countless hours working on her game.

The senior Illinois State recruit scored 23 points as the Golden Warriors opened the postseason with a dominant 68-35 win over Rochelle on Monday night.

Top-seeded Sterling (27-5) advances to face fourth-seeded Plano (27-4) at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Class 3A Sterling Regional final. Plano beat Sycamore 61-51 on Monday as its all-time leading scorer Josie Larson scored 22 points.

Austin calmly sank a free throw with 4:59 left in the third quarter to reach 1,000 points. Sterling then took a timeout as the team raised signs and congratulated Austin for the milestone. She is at 1,006 points and counting as the ninth girl at Sterling to reach 1,000.

“A lot of hours here,” she said of the Musgrove Fieldhouse gym after the win. “It’s just great to see my work pay off here. Getting regionals here is awesome too, just the amount of people that came to support us is awesome.

“That was very special. I’m just happy for my team and I know they’re happy for me.”

Sterling was sharp on both ends of the court from the jump, building a 42-18 lead at halftime. The team was able to empty the bench down the stretch as a running clock was enforced after Sterling led 62-32 after the third quarter.

Austin, who finished with nine rebounds and two blocks, hit her first four shots inside as Sterling led 22-12 after eight minutes. Joslynn James scored 19 points for the Warriors, which took advantage of fast break points and open looks.

Sterling coach Taylor Jackson noted Austin’s efforts in the gym that helped her achieve the career milestone.

“The unseen hours of that kid in this gym; to get to see that pay off here tonight in front of all these people is amazing,” Jackson said. “Because you hear it all the time about the unseen hours, but she is such an example of that and I’m just so proud of her.”

Austin and company will have one last home game as Sterling looks to earn its first regional title since 2019 on Thursday. Rochelle (8-23) had 20 turnovers in the loss.

“They’re committed to doing the things we ask them each night,” Jackson said of her team. “They just want to keep playing together. I was really proud of their effort. Defensively, offensively, I thought they did some really good things.”

James said the team came out with energy on its home floor.

“We knew we had to protect our home court no matter what,” she said. “That was a big key to our success.”

Sterling is 12-0 at home this season.

Up next is the Plano Reapers, who are led by Larson.

“We’ve just got to go one game at a time,” Austin said, “and do everything we can to keep our season going.”

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Sterling’s Madison Austin puts up a shot against Rochelle Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, during the girls 3A regional semifinal game in Sterling. (Alex T. Paschal)