Feb 1, 2023 3 min read

Name: Katie Dryer

School: Avella

Class: Senior

Sport: Basketball

Dryer’s week: There might not have been a sweeter feeling for the four-year starter when the clock struck zero last Thursday night.

As the scoreboard within the Avella High School gymnasium showed those zeros – at least in terms of time remaining – the Eagles found themselves with a 64-49 victory over visiting West Greene, snapping the Pioneers’ 70-game section winning streak.

The last time West Greene had lost a section game was in the 2015-2016 season.

And Dryer played a major role in finally getting the better of an opponent she’s been trying to beat since a freshman by scoring a team-high 18 points.

“I’ve never felt that feeling,” Dryer explained. “I’ve been playing sports against West Greene since my freshman year and haven’t beaten them in anything.”

Dryer isn’t just strictly talking about basketball, either. She also plays volleyball and softball at Avella.

“She definitely had an extra gleam in her eye that night,” said Avella coach Mike Drazich. “She wanted to win that one. When we started the season, we had hoped to accomplish that. It didn’t work out in the first meeting, but we knew we could be the first team to do it. She wasn’t going to be denied.”

While the loss for West Greene was an outlier to what has been a remarkable stretch, Dryer has been the model of consistency on the hardwood for the Eagles. She leads Avella in scoring with 15.9 points per game, rebounds (9.2) and steals (4.1).

In a win over McGuffey earlier this season, Dryer scored 20 points to become only the fourth girl in Avella history to reach the 1,000-point milestone. The others were Sherri Heckman in 1990, Lisa Mitchell in 2004 and Amanda Temple in 2011.

“I’ve known about the 1,000-point club since I was in seventh grade,” Dryer said. “I wanted to be the next name on that list.”

Versatility: Drazich has been able to utilize Dryer at multiple spots within the lineup over the course of the last two seasons. She was strictly playing forward out of necessity early in her high school career.

“To be quite honest, her offensive game as a whole has gotten better,” Drazich said. “Now that she can play a little more guard she has developed a better outside shot. It’s been a joy to have her for four years. You relish these moments as a coach because you don’t always have 1,000-point scorers.”

Shooter’s touch: It is not only on the basketball court where Dryer has the shooter’s touch.

Outside of the three sports she plays at Avella, along with being a cheerleader and playing trumpet in the band, Dryer shoots trap for Fort Cherry.

The family owns a trap thrower that gets its most use during weekends in the summer when Dryer has some spare time.

“Most kids get a car for their 16th birthday. I got a shotgun,” Dryer said with a laugh.

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