CHILLICOTHE — Efficient. Silently dominant. A model of consistency.
Pick your poison … all could describe Unioto’s Jocie Fisher.
The Shermans’ senior mainstay under the basket added yet another accomplishment to her already crowded resume Saturday evening. In a 78-43 win over Westfall in front of a home crowd, Fisher scored her 1,000th career point with 5:44 left in the third quarter.
“It was just a really exciting moment and also kind of a relief because it felt like such a long time coming,” Fisher said. “So that made it feel so much more rewarding.”
Coming into the season, Fisher wasn’t aware of how many career points she had under her belt. But coming into Saturday’s game, she knew she was 18 points from becoming the ninth player in program history to reach 1,000, and the first to do so since Alexis Overly in 2015.
“I only realized I was on track for 1,000 at the beginning of the season, so it’s a really big relief to finally reach it,” she said. “It makes me even more excited for the rest of our season and our tournament run.”
Throughout her career, Fisher has been nothing but reliable.
After playing in just six games during her freshman season, she posted 14.5 points per game during her sophomore campaign, alongside 9.5 rebounds, while playing an imperative part in the Shermans flipping their record from 5-18 to 17-7.
Last year, she was just as dependable, boasting averages of 13.7 points and 9.2 rebounds. Relying on Fisher, Unioto ended the year at 19-5 overall and won a share of the SVC title.
This season, she’s been even better, averaging 17.6 points and 9.1 rebounds.
Through all of that time, one thing has never changed: Fisher’s efficiency. The numbers don’t lie.
Over her career, she’s a 66 percent shooter, connecting on 398-of-604 field goal attempts. Another statistic that stands out above the rest? Out of 626 career rebounds, 327 have come on the offensive end. That’s music to any coach’s ears.
“Jocie is one of the most efficient players I’ve ever coached in 20-plus years,” Unioto coach Jeff Miller said. “She has improved over the years in all aspects. She is an absolute pleasure to coach and I’m extremely confident that she will accomplish great things in the future.”
Fisher has also shined in Unioto’s volleyball program, a sport she’ll be playing at Alderson Broaddus University following graduation.
Her volleyball career at Unioto speaks for itself. Over her four years, the Tanks have won two conference titles while Fisher has tallied a total of 691 kills, 85 aces, 180 blocks and 482 digs.
But before she’s Battler, she’s still a Sherman … and there’s unfinished business to attend to.
Now that her 1,000th career point is out of the way, Fisher can solely focus on her team’s success … and that’s not saying her team wasn’t always at the forefront of her mind.
If you know her, you know she’s one of the most selfless players you’ll ever come across.
“Even though it’s awesome to reach an individual goal, it doesn’t overshadow goals that we’ve had as a team and goals that everyone has worked together for,” she said. “The support of my teammates, coaches and parents means everything. I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am now if it wasn’t for them.”
Currently, Unioto stands at 15-2 with an 11-0 mark in conference play with Adena, Piketon and Southeastern left on their SVC slate.
Many have selected Fisher’s Shermans as favorites to win a gold ball. If they’re to do so, it’d be the first such occurrence since the 2013-2014 season.
If Jocie Fisher has any say in that matter — and she inevitably will — put your money on it.
“I want to win,” Fisher said. “Hopefully we can finish the regular season strong and make a good tournament run. I hope to keep scoring to help my team as much as possible.”