Greensburg Salem senior Kallock thriving in new scoring role

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, January 2, 2019 | 7:24 PM

After a big win over Woodland Hills in the first game of last week’s Mt. Pleasant tournament, the Greensburg Salem girls basketball team returned to the court the next day against Derry and found itself in a battle against a tough and scrappy Trojans squad.

Shots just weren’t falling for the Golden Lions like they did the night before against the Wolverines. Greensburg Salem was looking to make a run to blow the game open, and as the minutes and seconds ticked away on the third-quarter clock, it was anybody’s game.

And then it happened. The spark the Golden Lions had been looking for. If players and coaches want to know what Greensburg Salem standout guard Megan Kallock is all about, they need look no further than the final quarter of the Derry game.

With the Golden Lions trailing 33-30 late in the third quarter, Kallock drove the lane, missed a layup and while doing so caught an elbow to the bridge of her nose. Kallock’s nosebleed was a gusher and showed no signs of stopping.

“I didn’t realize that I was bleeding as bad as I was,” said Kallock, who finished with game-high 18 points.

And just like that, the Golden Lions’ top scorer had to leave the floor during the game’s most critical moment.

“The fourth quarter starts. She’s still down there (on the bench),” Greensburg Salem coach Rich Klimchock said. “She’s looking at me, I’m looking at her and she’s stomping her feet. She has that thing in her nose and all of that cotton.”

Kallock managed to stop her nosebleed long enough to get back on the floor with five minutes remaining in the game and took over, leading a 39-34 victory.

“She came running down (the bench) with cotton in her nose and said, ‘I’m playing,’ and went in to score six points,” Klimchock said. “Her toughness and will to win is what sets her apart.”

Those types of gutsy performances have made Kallock one of the more prolific scorers in program history and one of the hotter shooters in the WPIAL this season.

Kallock’s success is no surprise. The 5-foot-7 senior has been one of the WPIAL’s more respected shooters since she hit the hardwood as starter her freshman year.

Last January, Kallock joined the 1,000-career points club and entered her final season with 1,299. She is chasing Danielle Dawson’s career record of 2,007 points set in 2002. Kallock would need to average 33 points through the rest of the regular season to break Dawson’s 17-year record.

At the moment, Kallock is chasing Jessica Green’s record of 1,560 points to climb into second place in the Greensburg Salem record book. Kallock could leapfrog Green for second place when the Golden Lions host Section 1-4A foe Highlands on Thursday night.

“I love her, and she’s just having a great two years with me,” Klimchock said.

Kallock leads the Golden Lions in points per game (26.8), points (241), 3-point percentage (34) and nearly every other offensive category.

“It’s exciting,” said Kallock, who last month committed to play at Saint Vincent next season. “I’ve been working really hard since my freshman year to get to this point, but I really couldn’t do it without all of my coaches and teammates. Points have never really been that important to me as long as we win.”

But one stat commonly is overlooked because it doesn’t show up the scoreboard: Kallock’s hustle on defense. She leads the team in steals with 41 through nine games.

“I’m sucker for a steal,” Kallock said. “That’s the one thing that’s been consistent all four years.”

Kallock is also quick to point out that her success this season is in part because of freshman standout Abby Mankins’ outstanding play. After three years of directing traffic from the point guard position, Klimchock moved Kallock to the No. 2 guard in the offense and put Mankins at the point. Mankins is third on team in scoring (81 points) but most importantly ranks first in assists with 39.

“The other dynamic that has really happened to her this year was a Abby Mankins,” Klimchock said. “Abby’s a natural point (guard), and Megan’s a natural scorer. Megan is free to be the natural scorer. That dynamic has made us a better team.”

After missing out on the playoffs last year, Kallock is hoping lead the Golden Lions to an elusive playoff win.

“Last year was stressful not making it, and we did have a real tough section and we did lose games by a few points,” Kallock said. “Knowing that we have a completely different section is going to help us, and we’re going to get to the playoffs.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Greensburg Salem