By: Nate Calvin
With a bucket in the first half of Swanton’s district semifinal versus Elmwood, Aricka Lutz eclipsed 1,000 points in her illustrious career as a Lady Bulldog. Lutz is the first Lady Bulldog to reach the mark since Abby Lavigne did it in 2007 and she is the ninth player to do so in the history of the Swanton girl’s program.
“This accomplishment means everything”, said Aricka, who scored the 1,000th point appropriately enough on an assist from her twin sister Averie.
“This is something I have always dreamed of and worked towards. It really makes it feel like everything (practices, extra work) was worth it,” she added.
Aricka gives a lot of credit to her sister Averie for helping her reach this goal. “I wouldn’t be close to where I am without her. Every day at practice we always compete to do better than each other and growing up we both really enjoyed sports, so I always had someone there to push me to be better.”
Swanton head coach Eric Oakes, who just completed his sixth season at the helm, spoke about the impact that Averie has had on Aricka’s career.
“You can’t talk about Aricka without Averie. Both have very similar stats over four years in all categories.” “They both compete at the highest level in everything they do. They push each other, they feed off each other. When one is a bit off the other picks it up.”
“Without each other they would not be the same. They both want to be great, so they work harder than others to accomplish that”, said Oakes.
“Aricka is just a special player. Her anticipation, quickness, athleticism, she puts her body on the line to make any play.” “What people don’t see in the extra time she puts in to get better. From shooting, extra lifting, and watching film on her own”, concluded Oakes.
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a lot of uncertainty this season for Lutz and her teammates.
“It was tough, sports have always been my focus and throughout the year having the thought and fear of maybe not having a season was really tough and scary.”
Lutz earned 2nd team NWOAL and 2nd team District as a sophomore followed by 1st team NWOAL, 1st team District, Special Mention All-Ohio, and a NWOAL scoring title as a junior.
“I would really say put in extra work and that it is going to take time and hard work. It’s not going to come right way so there is no need to get discouraged. But it is very important to make it a priority and show up as much as you can and to go the extra step”, commented Lutz when asked what advice she had for players with aspirations of scoring 1,000 points.
“I just want to say thank you to Coach Oakes and the rest of my basketball coaches for helping me reach this goal as well as many others.”
After graduation Aricka is headed to Tiffin University to play soccer and further her education.
Nate can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com