King becomes first for Bedford girls basketball to reach 1K-point milestone

Throughout his years as a basketball coach, Kevin Gibbs has met a lot of fellow coaches at every level of the game.

About a year ago, a college coach approached him to talk about the shot of Isabella King, then a junior for the Bedford High School girls basketball team.

"Last year, there was a college coach that came to watch us play and she walked up to me," Gibbs said. "I’ve known her though my AAU associations for years. She said I’ve been coaching for 35 years, and that is the nicest stroke, and the most consistent stroke, I’ve ever seen on a high school ball player."

King put that shot on display Friday night in Bedford's 48-41 win over Manchester Memorial, including on two 3-pointers at the start of the second half. Those baskets started the Bulldogs on a run to retake the lead, but they also put the Bedford senior over the 1,000-point plateau for her high school career - the first player to do so for the girls basketball program, and just the second in school history.

"I knew I’ve been getting closer," King said. "I’ve been trying to go hard, game in and game out. To have it come in the flow, and my teammates did a good job of getting me the ball, nothing felt like it was forced.

"It’s very special and an honor, but I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. They just give me great opportunities and set me up. And coach gave me this opportunity, playing me a lot and believing in me."

Those opportunities didn't come right away for King, who didn't see a lot of time with the varsity until a few games into sophomore year, and was playing behind a talented group of juniors and seniors that season.

"She did this in less than two-and-a-half seasons," Gibbs said. "You could tell when she was in middle school that she was going to be something special, primarily because of her work ethic. The kid works every day."

King began playing basketball in first grade, and by the time she reached middle school, it had become her main athletic focus.

"I played soccer up until eighth grade, but then stopped to focus on basketball," she said. "I took it game by game, just knowing you can only do what you can do in a game. I’m just glad to have the opportunity."

Since the school opened in the fall of 2007, Bedford has had about two dozen girls basketball players go on to play in college, but none have done so at the Division I level.

King, who signed to play at Bucknell University, will be the first.

"I definitely liked the coaches and the team, and it’s a high-academic school," she said. "That’s what I wanted, with high athletics. They’re a very competitive team that’s made it to the NCAA tournament, so that’s why I wanted to go."

Despite having decided on her college plans, King continues to work to improve her game at every chance she gets, according to Gibbs.

"When she verballed to Bucknell, she was back in the gym the next day," the coach said. "She wants to get better. She doesn’t want to just have the opportunity to go to a Division I school on scholarship, she wants to play and contribute as soon as she can. She’s driven.

"She is doing what she should do, which is use your basketball skills to get the best education possible."