Lynbrook’s Gerstman all-time points leader

The Lynbrook girls basketball team is currently atop the Conference A-III standings with a record of 9-1. A major reason why the Owls are in line for home court advantage in the playoffs is the lights out play of senior guard Brooke Gerstman.

Last week, when Lynbrook squared off against Floral Park, the only conference opponent to edge the Owls this season, Gerstman dropped a game-high 23 points to lead Lynbrook to a 49-44 win.

Gerstman leading the scoring is nothing new for Lynbrook. In a game against Great Neck in December, she scored her 1,000th career point. A few weeks later she eclipsed the school’s scoring record when she broke the old mark of 1,076 points.

Scoring 1,000 points is no easy feat, and it’s even harder to pick which gave the milestone basket will come in, but that didn’t stop Gerstman and her teammates from trying. Entering a Dec. 8 contest against Baldwin, Gerstman entered the game 17 points shy of 1,000 — when the final buzzer went off, Gerstman finished with 16 points. “We were trying everything to get her that last point,” Lynbrook girls basketball coach Heather Manikas said. However, it didn’t take long for Gerstman to reach 1,000 in the next game against Great Neck North. She scored an early first quarter basket and then went on to score all of Lynbrook’s 17 points in the quarter and led the Owls to a big win.

Gerstman said she knew she was close to the milestone, but didn’t let it get to her. “I tried not to let it get in my head because I think it would’ve made me a little nervous, but it was always something I looked forward to,” she said. “I was really excited when it happened.”

Gerstman was given a ball to commemorate her achievement and the game was temporarily put on hold.

Manikas, who has known Gerstman since she was a sixth grader, said it was a “great honor” to watch Gerstman net her 1,000 point. “She’s the heart and soul of this team,” Manikas said of Gerstman. “Everybody looks to her to not only score, but to be a leader and make things happen. Whether she’s the number one scorer that night or if she’s just moving on offense to make her teammates look good.”