NUTLEY – Blair Watson has been simply unstoppable throughout her career. But she saved her best of the season while setting a major milestone.
The senior guard scored a career-high 37 points, including the 2,000th point of her career, to lead the Nutley High School girls’ varsity basketball team to a 49-34 home win over Marlboro on Feb. 22.
Watson, a McDonald’s All-American who will continue her career at the University of Maryland, needed 17 points to reach the 2,000-point mark. She also had career-highs of 26 rebounds and 11 blocks.
The victory, which came two days after a loss to Shabazz in the Essex County Tournament quarterfinals, improved the Raiders’ record to 16-7.
For Watson, it’s been a season of memorable moments.
Watson became the NHS girls’ all-time leading scorer this season, breaking the old mark of 1,602 points by Kim DiVincenzo Root, a 1999 graduate. Watson set the record during the 59-43 home win over Newark Tech when she scored 27 points.
Twelve days later, Watson was selected to play in the prestigious McDonald’s All-American Game at the United Center in Chicago on March 30 at 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPNU.
Watson then became the all-time leading scorer in NHS basketball history, both boys and girls, when she scored 24 points in the 45-41 over Fair Lawn on Feb. 8, at Fair Lawn, surpassing the old record of 1,855 points held by 1988 graduate Marty Higgins, who is the all-time leading boys’ scorer at NHS.
The Raiders are seeking to defend their state North Jersey Section 2, Group 3 tournament. NHS, seeded 11th, will visit sixth-seeded Cranford in the first round on Feb. 29.
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