CROSS-OVER DRIBBLE ­— Martin County West’s Emily Anderson (far right) utilizes a cross-over dribble to attempt to maneuver around Fairmont defender Grace Pendergast (middle) during nonconference basketball action Thursday night in Sherburn. Emily Anderson joined her brother, Zach Anderson, as a member of the 1,000-point plus club earlier this season (Photo by Greg Abel)

SHERBURN — The Anderson family is one with a profound love for the game of basketball. A father who coaches, and a couple of kids who play the game for him on the hardwood court.

When Emily Anderson, a junior forward at Martin County West, eclipsed 1,000 points in her high school career earlier this season, she joined her brother Zach and isn’t turning back.

Emily played her first two years of high school ball with her dad, Cliff, watching from the stands, but this season he is working the sideline coaching her squad instead of the Mavericks boys team he coached before.

Emily felt like seeing her dad coach her brother gave her some insight into what she should come to expect.

“I would say not much has changed. He might yell at me a little more than coach (Rodger) Taylor did but I’m OK with that having seen him coach many games in the boys program and he was really tough on my older brother Zach and he ended up doing OK,” Emily said. “When I’m on the floor and in the gym, he is my coach and when we are home, he’s dad and we really stick to that.”

Emily doesn’t just balance her personal family life with basketball, but also holds the responsibility of balancing her shot attempts and keeping everyone else engaged in the game.

In basketball it can be hard for the “star” player to balance looking for their own offensive output and getting their teammates easier looks, but this is an area where Emily excels.

In her recent game against the Madelia Blackhawks, she scored a game-high 23 points on efficient shooting splits, but also got her team involved with six assists.

“I let the game come to me,” Emily said. “If the ball finds me in the flow of the offense and I’m open, that’s great and if not, I’ll keep the ball moving and it’ll eventually find me again.”

Her unselfish style of play makes her achievement that much more impressive. Surpassing 1,000 points in high school is something most athletes accomplish as seniors, but Emily still has another season left.

A season ago, Emily averaged 14.6 points per contest to complement her 6.6 rebounds per game. She also accrued 379 total points a season ago for the Mavericks.

Emily’s brother, Zach, also played basketball for the Mavericks under their father’s guidance and also was a Fairmont Sentinel All-Area basketball player.

Zach finished his prep career at Martin County West with 1,993 career points, and Emily will undoubtedly have her eyes on that number next season.

With the backstretch of the girls hoops season approaching, Emily and the Mavericks will look to make some noise in the section playoffs.

The Mavericks now sit at 9-3 overall on the season in part due to Emily’s great play, but their gaze set on a bigger prize come the postseason.

The Mavericks will be back in action at 7 p.m. Tuesday night on the road against the Raiders in Nicollet in a Valley Conference game.