EDEN. N.Y. (WKBW) — Giving her all at every practice and game. That's just who Jessica Zittel is.
"I could tell this within a few weeks of coaching her, she takes basketball very seriously," Eden coach Bill O'Hare said.
The senior guard on the Eden girls basketball team has been playing varsity since the 8th grade. Eden's a pretty small town and that also means she's become pretty close with her teammates over the years.
"We've been playing together since the 3rd grade," she said. "We had a travel team for Eden."
It's why the program's had so much success over the years and players like Jessica have made a difference.
"Really, really good team player who wants to get everyone involved," O'Hare said about his senior captain. "She's a really good facilitator too."
Making the game easier for players like her sister Maggie, who plays alongside Jessica on varsity. Maggie's a junior forward who learns more from her older sister every day.
"She actually got me into playing basketball," the younger Zittel sister said. "So I love seeing her be so good and it's been competitive. We're just competitive with each other so watching her is like inspiring."
Jessica always strives to be the best player out there. Over the course of her career, she's made 233 three-pointers and scored her 1,000 point last season. But soon, her name will be known by players past and present as she's just 65 points away from becoming and tying the school's all-time scoring record. It's going to happen within these next few games, and when it does, Jessica says it's a feat made possible by everyone.
"It really comes down to having a great team and good friends to play with," she said.
A great team and good friends that are giving the town of Eden something exciting to look forward to.
