Morris' Landrie Callahan breaks school scoring record ... as a junior

MORRIS – Morris girls basketball player Landrie Callahan did something earlier this season that seemed remarkable.

In only the second game of the season, Callahan – still only a junior – eclipsed the 1,000-point barrier for her career. Most players, if they reach that mark at all, do so in the middle to later part of their senior seasons.

Callahan kept the points coming, and in Monday night’s 56-33 win over Bloomington in the Class 3A Washington Regional became the program’s all-time leading scorer. Her 18 points in that game put her career total at 1,574, eclipsing the mark of 1,558 set by Mya Shannon. Last season, she broke Shannon’s single-season scoring mark of 551, and has broken her own record this year as she closes in on 600.

The revelation that she had become the school’s all-time leader came as a surprise to her.

“I honestly didn’t know I had done it,” Callahan said. “We were at practice [Tuesday], and Coach [Mike Lutz] said, ‘Well, I guess we have to congratulate you, Landrie. You are the all-time leading scorer here.’

“I was shocked. I knew I was probably close, but I didn’t think I was that close. The records here have kind of been lost over the years, and no one really knew what the record was. Finally, someone went through old newspapers and figured them out.”

Like Shannon, Callahan will be a four-year member of the varsity team when she graduates next year. Shannon’s sister, Tessa, is a member of the current Morris team, and Callahan and Mya Shannon have had the opportunity to talk.

“When we had our celebration at the end of the regular season, Mya was there,” Callahan said. “She told me that I was going to end up breaking all of her records.

“Mya played with the Illinois Rockets in travel, and so did I. I have looked up to her for a long time.”

Mya Shannon is an assistant coach at Northern Illinois University after a stellar playing career at DePauw University, and the Huskies are one of the several teams vying for Callahan’s services. It won’t be easy, though, as Callahan recently received offers from the University of Pennsylvania and Pepperdine University.

Callahan, a 6-foot-2 forward who can play inside or outside with equal skill and effectiveness, hasn’t concerned herself much with setting records. One record that Callahan does think about, though, is the school season rebounding record of 462 set by Adrianne Leschewski in 1997-98, when Morris advanced to the Class AA state quarterfinals.

“The one record I would really like to get is the season rebounding one,” Callahan said. “My mom played on the same team as Adrianne, and it would be cool to break that record.”

Callahan has seen the Morris program turn around in her three seasons. As a freshman, they finished 10-22 before going 23-10 last year and improving on that record again this season.

“It has been great to be a part of the program getting better. When I was a freshman, we didn’t have very many people come out. We didn’t have enough players for a freshman team, and we had some juniors playing on the JV so they could have enough.

“This year we have a full freshman and JV team. I think that girls are seeing the success we are having and want to be a part of it. I’m really excited for next season. We don’t have any seniors on this team, so we are all coming back, and we will be better.”