Sharp-shooting Sophomore: Riverside’s Haroski youngest to score 1000 points

Kyndal Haroski, a sophomore, is one of the youngest players in Riverside history to reach the 1,000-point mark.

Riverside girls’ basketball head coach Brianne Jones kept hearing one girl’s name. She was all they could talk about.

Jones coached Cameron Haroski—a shooting guard for the Lady Warriors—during Cameron’s senior year in 2020.

But the Haroski family kept putting a bug in Jones’ ear about Cameron’s little sister, Kyndal.

“They just kept talking about how good Camryn’s little sister was,” said Jones. “They told me all about Kyndal.”

Jones decided to see for herself what all the talk was about. She ventured out to a few of Kyndal’s AAU youth basketball games to get a closer look.

She found herself one of the sharpest shooters she’d ever seen.

Kyndal could knock down outside shots and three-pointers at an incredible rate and outclassed every other girl her age on the court.

The only problem?

That age was 12.

But after letting her play fall ball for Riverside before the following regular season—where Kyndal averaged 15 points per game against some of the toughest 5-A competition—Jones knew the rising seventh-grader was ready to make a huge jump.

“I went and met with Kyndal’s parents, and I told them ‘She can do this,’” said Jones.

“This” being playing varsity basketball for Riverside High. As a seventh grader.

The Haroskis agreed. At just 12 years old, Kyndal would get the chance to suit up for the Lady Warriors and showcase what she could do.

“Honestly, I didn’t have a lot of confidence going in,” said Kyndal. “I was so young. I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew going into it so young, it was going to be hard. But I wanted to take the chance and go from there.”

Her risks have paid off—both for herself and for the Lady Warriors. She hit the ground running and hasn’t looked back. Haroski was a starter almost immediately with the Lady Warriors and was named all-region in both her eighth-grade and freshman years on varsity.

The Lady Warriors have improved every season with Kyndal leading the way. She helped guide them to a 20-7 record in 2022, the program’s best mark in 13 years.

And on Friday, in the first game of her sophomore year, Kyndal scored her 1,000th career point—an unprecedented feat for someone her age.

“It’s crazy. I mean, she’s just now starting her sophomore year, and she’s already scored 1,000,” said Jones. “And if her shots aren’t falling, if her threes aren’t falling, then she’s taking it to the hole. She’s become such a complete player.”

Haroski says one of her next goals, at the rate she’s currently going, is to hit 2,000 points by the time her Riverside career is done.

Her 30-point performance last weekend in a 78-75 overtime win over Andrew Jackson at the She Got Next Tournament helped guide Riverside to the tournament championship.

Kyndal shot 7-12 from three-point range in the win. She scored eight of Riverside’s 11 points in overtime.

“It feels good, being able to have this kind of success,” said Kyndal. “Mainly because I know how much work I put in to get here.”

Kyndal says she’s thankful for the trust Jones placed in her from such a young age.

“[Coach Jones] had faith in me. She believed in me,” said Kyndal. “I trusted her to make the right decision for me and trusted my parents. Sure, I was tiny coming in as a seventh grader. And I was really intimidated. I was playing against girls who were a lot bigger than me.

“But I learned to go with it. I get to use it as an opportunity to get stronger and better every single day.”