Jada Beverly knew it was coming.

Late in Priceville’s 75-45 area championship win over East Lawrence, she finally got the chance she needed.

Even before she took the shot, she was already smiling — almost laughing — as she calmly drove the lane and scored the lay-up with 1:30 to go in the fourth quarter, giving her 1,000 points for her career.

Coming into the game, Beverly needed just 14 points to hit her career milestone. She needed almost the entire game to get that.

Priceville head coach Terrie Nelson called a timeout to give her team a chance to celebrate the Beverly’s achievement.

“It was almost a relief that I could get to 1,000 points tonight, so that now I can focus on our team’s goals for the rest of the season,” Beverly said. “My team is more important that anything for myself.”

Nelson said she was excited for her senior shooting guard.

“She’s a special player for us,” Nelson said. “She’s such a great shooter. We haven’t had to many girls achieve a milestone like this. It was a great that she got to celebrate that on an important night like tonight was, when we won the area championship and earned our 25th win.”

Priceville took control of the game in the first quarter, going on a 14-3 to take a 20-9 lead. The Lady Bulldogs extended that lead to 41-23 at the half thanks to McKenzie Parker’s 15 first-half points. She finished with 17 points and six rebounds.

Alex Moore also had nine points in the first half and finished with 16 points, eight points and four assists.

Beverly then scored 12 of her 14 to lead Priceville in the second half, as the Lady Bulldogs pulled away down the stretch.

Emilee Cunningham also had 12 points and nine rebounds. Peyton Parker added six points, 10 assists and four rebounds followed by Kenzie Price and Shyanne Stackhouse with three points each and Brianna Gwin and Kayla Lucas with two each.

Lucas also had seven rebounds, as seven players racked up at least four rebounds. Gwin dished out three assists.

Anna Kate Segars led East Lawrence with 17 points while Angel Bolden finished with 16.

The win caps a remarkable turnaround for the Lady Bulldogs. After finishing with a losing record, the Lady Bulldogs sit at 25-4 and will now host Central-Florence (16-12) Thursday night for a trip to the Northwest Regional.

Nelson said her girls are savoring the moment.

“I think these girls really appreciate where we are this year,” Nelson said. “They’re not taking any of it for granted. It’s been a great season and they deserve it.”