WINDHAM - As Windham senior Caitlyn Isler closes in on the 1,000th point of her career, opponents of the Bombers will probably be glad to see her graduate.
That doesn't mean those teams won't have to worry about another Isler for the next three seasons. Caitlyn's younger sister Jessica is already making life miserable for opponents with a scoring average of 17 points a game.
Jessica showed of her shooting prowess Wednesday in the Bombers' 62-49 Portage Trail Conference County Division win over the Southeast Pirates. Jessica connected on four 3-point shots in scoring a game-high 24 points. Caitlyn was off on her shooting touch and scored just five points, but she ran the offense well from her spot at point guard.
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With three games remaining in the regular season, Caitlyn is 36 points shy of the 1,000-point mark. There's no doubt that reaching that scoring plateau is on her mind.
"That's pretty much the last thing I think about before I go to bed and what it would be like to score that many points," Caitlyn said. "I never knew I was that close. I'm not averaging as many this year as in the past, switching roles to point guard. I'm going to try to get there, hopefully."
Considering the way Jessica has played, there shouldn't be any doubt that she'll reach the 1,000-point mark in her senior season. Don't be surprised if it happens early in that season.
"We always joke about it," said Caitlyn, who's averaging 12 points and six assists. "She tells me how many she has and how many I had in my freshman year, and she's already past how many I had in the season. I hope she does."
Jessica has a complete inside-outside game. One on possession she might square up and make a 3-point shot, and the next time she might show off her ability to drive to the basket.
Having an older sister to follow can only help Jessica in her development as a player.
"We pretty much do everything together," Jessica said. "We're always with each other."
Caitlyn seemed to enjoy every minute of her time on the floor last night. If she was bothered by not scoring more than five points, you couldn't tell by the look on her face. She basically smiled her way through all four quarters.
"She's adjusted her role this year, and it's probably made us a better team," said Bombers coach Gregg Isler, the father of Caitlyn and Jessica. "In the past she had to take a lot more shots for us, and she's done a nice job of adjusting to make us a better team."
The father-daughter relationship undoubtedly has hit a few rocky spots along the way for all involved, but it's working out well.
"We have our moments, but now that I'm a senior I've kind of gotten over things," Caitlyn said. "When he says something, just listen instead of trying to argue back just like in the dad role. When you're a kid you sometimes argue with your parents. Just let it go and try to do whatever is best that will work for us as a team."
The Bombers (10-7 and 7-6 in the division) led 18-14 after the first quarter and 39-23 at halftime. They stretched the lead to 51-31 through three periods, which gave Gregg a chance to rest his starters for much of the fourth quarter.
"We shot the ball real well in the first half," Gregg said. "The first time we played them, they were able to hurt us inside, so we decided we can't play that type of game. Our pressure was real good. Britney Collins stepped up and made some shots for us. It was one of her better games of the year."
Collins made four 3-point shots and finished with 14 points.
Shayna White led the Pirates (10-8 and 8-4) with 17 points. Jackelyn McCullogh added 12.
Windham hosts Southington tonight. Southeast is home to play Crestwood Saturday in a 2:30 p.m. start.
